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The Cabal in Kabul: Great-Power Interaction in Afghanistan

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 August 2014

Shaheen F. Dil
Shaheen F. Dil*
Affiliation:
Mount Holyoke College
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Abstract

The July 17, 1973 coup serves as a case study of the nature and extent of great-power interest and involvement in Afghanistan. The dynamics of American, Soviet, and Chinese interaction are multifaceted and volatile, and imply that no one great power had outright control. Thus, this treatment concerns influence rather than control, and multilateral interaction rather than unilateral or bilateral action. The differing interests of the great powers in Afghanistan are outlined. Next, the possibility of great-power involvement in the coup is examined. Finally, the impact of the coup upon Afghanistan's relations with the three great powers is considered. Available material suggests that neither the United States nor the People's Republic of China had sufficient interest or influence to instigate the coup. Nor is there any concrete evidence that the Soviet Union played a significant role, although it did have the opportunity, influence, and interests to do so.

Type
Articles
Information
American Political Science Review , Volume 71 , Issue 2 , June 1977 , pp. 468 - 476
Copyright
Copyright © American Political Science Association 1977

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References

1 “Upheaval in Kabul,” New York Times, July 20. 1973, p. 30 Google Scholar.

2 This article was originally written in January, 1974. Subsequent events have proved this supposition to be partially correct.

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6 Quoted from a personal letter from Ambassador Robert G. Neumann to the author, dated May 19, 1975.

7 Ibid.

8 Dil, Shaheen F., “The Extent and Nature of Soviet Involvement in the Bangladesh Crisis,” Asia Quarterly, No. 3 (1973), 245 Google Scholar.

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36 “Head of State of Afghanistan M. Daud Sends Message to Acting Chairman Tung Pi-wu on Chinese National Day,” October 3, 1973, in China Press, October 15–19, 1973, p. 116 Google Scholar.

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