Factors Promoting Ethnocentricity in the Afghan Society Post-2001: An Exploratory Analysis

Ethnicization of politics is extremely prevalent in Afghanistan. It turned out to be an essential component of the Bonn Agreement of 2001, which aimed to put an end to the civil wars and to outbalance ethnic applications to overcome the prolonged conflict. This research explores the role of the factors that added to the ethnocentricity promotion in Afghan society post-2001. It demonstrates how the political display of ethnicity in Afghan politics and ethnocentricity promotion have manipulated the political structure of Afghanistan. This research study is qualitative in nature, and the analysis is based on secondary sources. The study outlines the spread of ethnicity in Afghanistan on two grounds, including internal as well as external factors. The reasons include tribalism, mismatched leadership and corruption; control of material and spiritual resources; marginalization of some ethnic groups; and strategic goals and interests of regional stakeholders that exacerbate the spread of ethnocentricity in Afghanistan. The study recommends a strong central government to keep the ethnic card players in check, and in the meantime, the government should provide equal opportunities to all ethnic groups and eradicate discrimination from the governmental structure. The government needs to allocate national annual budgets properly, which can address grievances from regions and rural areas, and take steps to ensure the inclusion of all ethnic groups.