NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA THESIS UNGOVERNED SPACES: THE CHALLENGES OF GOVERNING TRIBAL SOCIETIES by Ty L. Groh June 2006 Thesis Co-Advisors: Anne L. Clunan Thomas H. Johnson Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. The views expressed in this thesis are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of the United States Air Force, Department of Defense, or the U.S. Government. REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE Form Approved OMB No. 0704-0188 Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 1 hour per response, including the time for reviewing instruction, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to Washington headquarters Services, Directorate for Information Operations and Reports, 1215 Jefferson Davis Highway, Suite 1204, Arlington, VA 22202-4302, and to the Office of Management and Budget, Paperwork Reduction Project (0704-0188) Washington DC 20503. 1. AGENCY USE ONLY (Leave blank) 2. REPORT DATE 3. REPORT TYPE AND DATES COVERED June 2006 Master’s Thesis 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE: 5. FUNDING NUMBERS UNGOVERNED SPACES: The Challenges of Governing Tribal Societies 6. AUTHOR(S) Ty L. Groh 7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 8. PERFORMING Naval Postgraduate School ORGANIZATION REPORT Monterey, CA 93943-5000 NUMBER 9. SPONSORING /MONITORING AGENCY NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 10. SPONSORING/MONITORING N/A AGENCY REPORT NUMBER 11. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES The views expressed in this thesis are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of the United States Air Force, Department of Defense or the U.S. Government. 12a. DISTRIBUTION / AVAILABILITY STATEMENT 12b. DISTRIBUTION CODE Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited 13. ABSTRACT (maximum 200 words) This thesis addresses the efforts of different states to establish their authority over the Pashtun ethnic group. The Pashtun are at the heart of the conflict in Afghanistan, and provide both an important and current example of why “ungoverned spaces” have become such hot topic among many of the world’s countries. People that exist within a sovereign state’s borders and outside the state’s authority present a dangerous problem to both the state itself and the international community. To address the challenges facing a state engaged in establishing its authority over the Pashtun, this thesis identifies normative and organizational structural factors associated with rural Pashtun tribes and discusses how these factors impede state authority. These factors are applied to three cases which involved a modern government’s efforts to establish its authority over the Pashtun. In almost every case, the state failed when it either misunderstood the importance of these structural factors or willfully ignored them to pursue other interests. Looking beyond the Pashtun case, the research in this thesis determines that policies focused purely on suppression, isolation, or accommodation are destined to fail in establishing state authority. The common failing of these three policies occurs when the state fails to understand the difference between establishing order and establishing authority. Finally, the state must seriously consider its capacity to expand its authority—the lower the capacity, the longer it will take and the more accommodating (but not purely accommodating) the state must act. 14. SUBJECT TERMS Pashtun, Governance, Tribal Societies, Segmentary Societies, State 15. NUMBER OF Authority PAGES 151 16. PRICE CODE 17. SECURITY 18. SECURITY 19. SECURITY 20. LIMITATION CLASSIFICATION OF CLASSIFICATION OF THIS CLASSIFICATION OF OF ABSTRACT REPORT PAGE ABSTRACT Unclassified Unclassified Unclassified UL NSN 7540-01-280-5500 Standard Form 298 (Rev. 2-89) Prescribed by ANSI Std. 239-18 i THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK ii Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. UNGOVERNED SPACES THE CHALLENGES OF GOVERNING TRIBAL SOCIETIES Ty L. Groh Major, United States Air Force B.S., United States Air Force Academy, 1993 Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS IN SECURITY STUDIES (DEFENSE DECISION MAKING AND PLANNING) from the NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL June 2006 Author: Ty L. Groh Approved by: Anne L. Clunan Co-Advisor Thomas H. Johnson Co-Advisor Douglas Porch Chairman, Department of National Security Affairs iii THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK iv ABSTRACT This thesis addresses the efforts of different regimes to establish their authority over the Pashtun ethnic group. The Pashtun are at the heart of the conflict in Afghanistan, which also reaches into northwestern Pakistan. They provide both an important and current example of why “ungoverned spaces”—geographic regions beyond the reach of central authority—have become such important topic among many of the world’s countries. People that exist within a sovereign state’s borders and outside the state’s authority present a potentially dangerous problem to both the state itself and the international community. To address the challenges facing a state attempting to establish its authority over the Pashtun, this thesis identifies normative and organizational structures associated with rural Pashtun tribes and discusses how these factors impede the creation of central state authority. These factors are applied to three cases—concerning Britain, Pakistan, and the Soviet Union—which involved a modern government’s efforts to establish its authority over the Pashtun. In almost every case, the state failed when it either misunderstood the importance of these structural factors or willfully ignored them to pursue other interests. The most successful case occurred when the government of Pakistan focused on integrating the Pashtun through providing education, transportation and health services. The intent was to bring the Pashtun into Pakistan’s mainstream society. Unfortunately, this effort was short-lived due to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Looking beyond the Pashtun case, the research in this thesis suggests that policies focused purely on suppression, isolation, or accommodation are destined to fail in establishing state authority. The common failing of these three policies occurs when the state fails to understand the difference between establishing order and establishing authority. Most often, a policy focused on a give and take relationship with a tribe, leaning slightly towards more giving than taking, appeared to work best. Finally, the state must seriously consider its capacity to expand its authority—the lower the capacity, the longer it will take and the more accommodating (but not purely accommodating) the state must act. v THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK vi TABLE OF CONTENTS I. THE PROBLEM WITH “UNGOVERNED SPACES” ...........................................1 A. WHY STATES SEEK TO ENFORCE A RULE OF LAW .........................2 B. EXPLANATIONS FOR RESISTANCE........................................................3 C. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK.................................................................8 D. WHY THE PASHTUN PRESENT A RELEVANT CASE STUDY ...........9 E. RESEARCH DESIGN...................................................................................12 II. WHY PASHTUNS RESIST CENTRAL AUTHORITY........................................15 A. PASHTUNWALI AS A NORMATIVE STRUCTURE .............................15 B. PASHTUN ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE......................................19 C. RESISTANCE THEORIES IN THE PASHTUN CONTEXT ..................21 III. BRITISH CASE STUDY...........................................................................................25 A. INTRODUCTION..........................................................................................25 B. BACKGROUND ............................................................................................25 C. BRITISH TRIBAL POLICIES ....................................................................26 1. Indian Penal Code..............................................................................27 2. The Close Border Policy....................................................................28 3. Frontier Crimes Regulation..............................................................32 4. The Forward Policy ...........................................................................33 5. Indirect Rule and the Maliki System ...............................................37 D. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK APPLIED TO BRITISH POLICIES ......................................................................................................40 1. Organizational Factors......................................................................40 2. Normative Factors .............................................................................42 E. CONCLUSION ..............................................................................................46 IV. PAKISTAN CASE STUDY.......................................................................................49 A. INTRODUCTION..........................................................................................49 B. BACKGROUND ............................................................................................49 C. PAKISTAN’S TRIBAL POLICIES.............................................................54