On Wednesday 28 November 2007, Dr Antonio Giustozzi (London School of Economics) will launch his new book entitled Koran, Kalashnikov and Laptop: The Neo-Taliban Insurgency in Afghanistan 2002-2007 (C Hurst & CO, 2007) from 1-2pm.
In March 2006, both Afghan and American officials were still claiming, just before a series of particularly ferocious clashes, that 'the Taliban are no longer able to fight large battles'. Later that year, the mood in the mass media had turned to one of defeatism, even of impending catastrophe. In reality, as early as 2003-5 there was a growing body of evidence that cast doubt on the official interpretation of the conflict. Rather than there having been a '2006 surprise', Dr Giustozzi argues that the Neo-Taliban insurgency had put down strong roots in Afghanistan as early as 2003, a phenomenon he investigates in this timely and thought-provoking book.
Dr Antonio Giustozzi is a research fellow at the Crisis States Research Centre at the London School of Economics and has already authored War, politics and society in Afghanistan, 1978-1992 (Georgetown University Press, 2000), which analysed the policies of the pro-Soviet government. He is currently researching various aspects of governance and politics in Afghanistan and has written several articles and papers on this subject, covering 'warlordism', the formation of the new Afghan National Army, the Afghan insurgency in the 1980s and state building. He previously served in the United Nations Assistance Mission to Afghanistan (2003-4). Some of his recent articles include: "Afghanistan: Political Parties or Militia Fronts?" in Transforming rebel movements after civil wars, ed. by J. de Zeeuw, (Lynne Reinner Publishers, forthcoming 2007); "Auxiliary force or national army? Afghanistan's 'ANA' and the counter-insurgency effort, 2002-2006", Small Wars and Insurgencies, Vol. 18, No. 1, March 2007; 'The inverted cycle: Kabul and the strongmen's competition for control over Kandahar, 2001-2006', Central Asian Survey Volume 26, No. 2, June 2007; and "The privatizing of war and security in Afghanistan: future or dead end?", The Economics of Peace and Security Journal, Vol. 2, No. 1, January 2007.
Copies of the book will be available to buy at the launch at a special discounted rate. Cash purchases only.
This meeting will be chaired by Colonel Christopher Langton (IISS Senior Fellow for Senior Fellow for Conflict & Defence Diplomacy) and will take place on the Fourth Floor at Arundel House, 13-15 Arundel Street, Temple Place, London, WC2R 3DX.
If you would like to attend, please RSVP Kathleen James on Email:
james@iiss.org or Tel. 020 7395 9109
