Prof. Nunan takes us from Soviet occupation of Afghanistan to rise of Taliban and their lack of governing experience. 

Where do the Taliban come from? And how is their version of Islam different than say... Iran's? Saudi Arabia? Or Turkey's? And why is it that most Taliban don't speak English (or French for that matter), but the US-backed Afghan government's technocrats did? In addition to their strict interpretation of Islam, the Taliban are different from the Afghan government they defeated in their ethnicity, language and regional affiliations. The two most striking characteristics of the Taliban are their close ties with Pakistan and their rural origins, both of which sets them apart from the urban residents of Kabul - the Afghanistan that we Americans often saw on TV.  Describing the Taliban of the 1990s, Professor Timothy Nunan highlights an intriguing point - that it's hard to call the Taliban a state, because, in their first run of Afghanistan, they pretty much outsourced most of the administrative matters of the country. And this leads to Professor Nunan's interest in Afghanistan's major theme - that it's a country that for decades has depended on foreign aid to survive!  Although the following is a small point in the great tragedy of Afghanistan's fall to the Taliban, it's important to note that the Taliban are not interested, at least not yet, in exporting their way of government or their Islamic ethos. As Professor Nunan tells it, they are perfectly happy remaining within the bounds and boundaries of Afghanistan.  

In this podcast episode, Professor Nunan describes the long history of communism's interest in partnering with the forces of Islam and recruiting Muslims. This background provides a segue to the USSR's occupation of Afghanistan, during which more than one million Afghans died. For more information about Professor Nunan's impressive accomplishments and fascinating research, please visit his academic homepage or his personal website: https://timothynunan.com/.