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

Article／論文 The Dynamics of Nomad- Sedentary Conflict in Afghanistan The Kuchi-Hazara Confrontation in Hazarajat Abbas FARASOO Ⅰ . Introduction Ⅱ . Conceptual and Theoretical Frameworks of Nomad-Sedentary Conflict Ⅲ . The Story of Nomad-Sedentary Conflict in Afghanistan Ⅳ . Evaluating the Conflict Ⅴ . Conclusion 1 The Dynamics of Nomad-Sedentary Conflict in Afghanistan（Farasoo） 33-1_中東学会.indb 1 2017/08/09 13:13:14 I. Introduction This article explores the dynamics of conflict between sedentary and nomadic communities in the central part of Afghanistan. The sedentary and nomadic communities belong to Hazara and Pashtun ethnic groups respectively, and these two communities have long historical relations but their interactions were historically shaped AJAMES no.33-1 2017 2 33-1_中東学会.indb 2 2017/08/09 13:13:14 by processes of state formation and fragmentation in the country. In terms of ethnic differences, the Pashtuns are speaking Pashto language and practicing Sunni branch of Islam. The Hazaras, the most persecuted historically in the county, are practicing Shia branch of Islam and are speaking Persian. The nomad-sedentary conflict histo rically emerged spontaneously with the state formation process and ethnical domination in Afghanistan during Amir Abd al-Rahman Khan’s Reign in 1880s. Abd al-Rahman Khan lunched a military campaign against the Hazaras in the central parts of the country and the Pashtun nomads played a crucial role. Consequently, the Hazaras were massacred, persecuted, imprisoned and sold to slavery, and their lands and postures were confiscated and awarded for the Pashtun nomads [Mousavi 1998]. The allocation of historically Hazara pastures to Pashtun nomads became a departure point of contentious relation between sedentary Hazara and Pashtun nomads in Afghanistan, which has continued up to the present. The Pashtun nomads historically have been supported through Afghan government which was dominated by Pashtun ethnic group. Since 2001 the conflict over local pastures between the Pashtun nomads and the sedentary Hazaras has assumed significant political dimensions, affecting politics at the national level. The conflict tends to assume strong ethnic dimensions as Hazara and Pashtun, involving Pashtun and Hazara politicians at the national levels. However, the ethnicization of the conflict is not an i nevitable outcome. It is conceivable that the conflict could gain more salient dimensions along the life style of its protagonists, or at the very least remain a purely local dispute. This paper begins with the assumption that the conflict could follow a number of different pathways that could result less ethnicized outcome. Consequently, it frames the conflict as a localized nomad-sedentary confl ict and then asks how this particular local conflict gains political significance at the national level. To explain how a local conflict affects national politics, the paper discusses the legacies of state formation in Afghanistan and the collective memories as mechanisms connecting local conflicts to national politics and ethnic contention. After the collapse of the Taliban regime in 2001, disputes over land and other natural resources are increased [Wily 2013; Gaston and Dang 2015] but, violent conflicts that result from such disputes are mostly local with little political consequences. The nomad-sedentary conflict between Hazaras and Pashtuns stands out among similar conflicts by its repeated escalation into organized violent conflict making it one of the highly contentious political iss ues at the national level. Since 2005, in all presidential elections the nomad-sedentary conflict resolution is one of the 3 The Dynamics of Nomad-Sedentary Conflict in Afghanistan（Farasoo） 33-1_中東学会.indb 3 2017/08/09 13:13:15 master signifiers of political discourse as it is one of main Hazara ethnic community’s demands in return for their massive vote blocks, which has proven to be decisive in the elections. Moreover, the nomad-sedentary conflict greatly complicated the Pashtun- Hazara relations and became a major source of ethnic tensions through revivals of historical memories. But the government and other actors have consistently failed to achieve any type of resolution to the conflict and they have failed in defining the nature of the conflict. In order to achieve socio-political stability, it is important to examine the dynamics of the conflict and its political implications. The intensity and intractability of the conflict have attracted the attention of many scholars of Afghanistan who have offered d ifferent explanations for the causes and drivers of the conflicts. Analysts such as Rassul, have divided the causes of the conflict into two general categories: tangible and intangible factors. The tangible factors are pastures, land, and water; and also intangible factor such as “the history of modern Afghanistan” [Rassul 2010: 8]. But he does not explain the interactive mechanisms of these two f actors of the conflict. Weijer believes that in the nomad-sedentary conflict in Afghanistan, large areas of grazing and pasture “have become heavily politicized and strongly associated with ethnic identity, there is a high level of conflict over these user’s rights, which have often proven to be inflammable” [Weijer 2007: 9]. Despite that she mostly focused on the resource-based analysis, she also makes an implicit mention of the ethnicization of pastures and its political associations: “Due to socio-political factors that led to a high level of conflict over the pastures, access to certain pasture areas has been reduced, which could theoretically even have led to under-grazing in these areas, whereas pressure on other areas has increased proportionally” [Weijer 2007: 13]. Other experts su ch as Wily and Milich adopted resources-based approaches [Wily 2013; Wily 2015; Milich 2009]. From Milich’s perspective, the nomad-sedentary conflict in the central part of Afghanistan “seems to be a quintessential struggle over access to ecological resources – that is, summer grazing,” and “the roots of the conflict go back much further” [Milich 2009]. For Wily, the escalation of the conflict is because of the weakness of the state in controlling the land and settling the conflict through the enforcement of the rule of law [Wily 2013: 97, 106]. But resources-based analyses and poor governance approach alone cannot explain the collective dynamics of the conflict and attention need to be shifted towards on relational interactions of resource scarcity and historical memories which woven toge ther underpins the contentious processes. This article focuses on the following questions: why in the post-Taliban AJAMES no.33-1 2017 4 33-1_中東学会.indb 4 2017/08/09 13:13:15 Afghanistan do the organized nomad-sedentary conflicts continue to break out repeatedly in central part of the country? Why and how do the ethnic appeals from both sides, which contribute to the intensification of the conflict, go beyond the local level across the national political spectrum, further sharpening the ethnic cleavages? These are important questions to ask because in the post-2001 period, Afghanistan has had a central government and a judicial system that should address these local issues. This research argues that nomad-sedentary conflict has strong historical and political dimension and it’s not a simple ‘resource-based-conflict.’ It is the shared understanding of historical events, such as collective memory, t hat affects real life, and plays a significant role in collective interaction processes, and construction of collective identities. Methodologically, this research adopts a historical sociological approach similar to the approach taken by Charles Tilly [Tilly 2003; also McAdam, Torrow and Tilly 2001] to explain the conflict. In nature, it is a qualitative method which is based on the combination of primary and secondary data. I gathered different primary and secondary data from the local and international media coverage of nomad-sedentary conflict. In the meanwhile, I conducted around twenty interviews during field research in 2012 with politicians, civil society activists from different ethnic groups and MPs representing both the nomadic and sedentary community. This paper will be divided into several parts, including conceptual analysis, theoretical review, case study and theoretical implication. II. Conceptual and Theoretical Frameworks of Nomad-Sedentary Conflict 1. Who are the Nomads and the Sedentary in Afghanistan? In Afghanistan, the common term used for nomads is Kuchi.(1) Kuchi, a Persian term, is used for someone who migrates seasonally, and is derived from kuch, meaning migration [Tapper 2008]. For a long time, the terms have been used in most of the reports, news and academic works to refer to Pashtun nomads. The total nomadic population of the country is not known. Afghanistan has not conducted any national census of the population of the country and consequently all figures are rough estimates or political motivated projections. According to Afghanistan Central Statist ics 5 The Dynamics of Nomad-Sedentary Conflict in Afghanistan（Farasoo） 33-1_中東学会.indb 5 2017/08/09 13:13:15 Organization (CSO), the Kuchis are estimated to be about 1.46 million people and constitute five percent of the 29.2 million estimated population of the country [CSO 2016]. Furthermore, although Pashtuns, Tajiks, Hazaras and Uzbeks are recognized as the major ethnic groups of the country, there are no reliable figures that can show the total population of each of the main ethnic groups. Mostl y, the Hazaras are estimated as 19% of the whole population in different sources [Sarabi 2005: 30; Fact Rover n.d.]. However, because of politicization of the ethnic identities in Afghanistan, it would be very helpful to define the concept of nomad and sedentary and its combination as nomad-sedentary conflict in this paper. Some scholars have defined nomads “as extensive and mobile pastoralists wh o either have nothing at all to do with agriculture, or who are occupied with agriculture to a limited degree in the capacity of a secondary and supplementary activity” [Khazanov 1994: 15]. The definition of nomadism is based on the economic characteristics, lifestyle and social habitus.

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