The Dynamics of Nomad-Sedentary Conflict in Afghanistan: The Kuchi-Hazara Confrontation in Hazarajat

In recent years, disputes between mainly Pashtun nomadic tribes and sedentary Hazaras in the provinces of Wardak, Ghazni and Bamyan have escalated into an organized armed conflict with significant national political repercussions. This article seeks to explain why, since 2001, this particular local conflict, originating in the central part of the country, has gained national and political significance. It uses a relational theory to explain dynamics of the conflict and argues that it intensified and gained significant political dimensions as a result of interaction of cognitive, relational and environmental mechanisms, most notably social boundary activation, memory mobilization, brokerage operation, and sharpening claim-making performances over resources. Relational mechanisms explain the dynamics of the violent nomad-sedentary conflict at the local level and its intensification at the national level in the context of political contention based on ethnic appeals. Furthermore, the article shows that nomad-sedentary conflict in Afghanistan is not only a conflict over resources. Rather, it has a complex historical dimension. Consequently, explanation of the conflict requires greater attention to be paid on historical processes of contentious interactions in the country. The historical dimensions of contention show that the nomad-sedentary conflict is rooted in state formation processes and still remains a contentious enigma. Therefore, this article, challenges resource-based analysis, and contends that a broad historical analysis of the conflict shows historical processes of state formation in Afghanistan in which the nomad-sedentary conflict is rooted.