Developing Dependency in Afghanistan: A Case Study of the Kabul New City Project

Keywords: Afghanistan; imperialism; dependency; urban development; underdevelopment; Marxism
Abstract Type: Paper Abstract

Abstract

In February 2022--just six months after the United States withdrew troops from Afghanistan-- the Biden administration seized $7 billion in foreign reserves from the Central Bank of Afghanistan held in the US. In turn, Afghanistan's economy plunged deeper into crisis as inflation skyrocketed and wages for public and essential workers came to a halt. To date, 97 percent of Afghanistan's population lives in poverty, 92 percent is going hungry, and half of all children under five face malnutrition. Recognizing the country's vital dependency on aid and access to markets through the US, the Taliban have even called for their erstwhile enemies to return and rebuild the national economy. The US no longer has military presence in the country, but it is evident that Afghanistan continues to be disciplined, and its (under)development and dependency determined, according to the interests of US imperialism. What is less clear, however, is what these interests are considering the seeming failure of 20 years of war and investment in Afghanistan. Looking at the failed effort to construct a new capital city, I argue that the complex, imperialist political economy in Afghanistan can be better understood by evaluating the social and spatial relations of past urban development in the country. This paper draws from and contributes to Marxist debates around imperialism, underdevelopment and dependency as well as debates in urban studies around flows of capital and class relations in Southern cities.