What on Earth is Going On?: A Crash Course in Current Affairs
Trying to determine what is going on in the world by reading newspapers is like trying to tell the time by watching the second hand of a clock. Ben HechtEvery day we are bombarded with far more information than we can possibly hope to absorb. We don't have the time, energy or patience to process it all and understand the root causes behind issues and their development. There might be areas of politics, business and international affairs which we know well, perhaps because our working lives directly involve them, but there is always so much besides which seems impenetrable, forbidding and rather scary as a result. Newspapers require a familiarity with acronyms and jargon in order to be comprehensible, not to mention considerable background knowledge.What on Earth is Going On? fills in some of this background in a clear but unpatronising style, taking the form of an alphabetical glossary which can be dipped into at convenient times. It is designed to be a gentle and amusing survival guide for people of all ages who wish they knew slightly more about what on earth is going on. This is a book for the bedside table, the morning commute or the downstairs loo, where it can be consulted by the confused dinner party guest who has taken refuge from the conversation going on next door. We hope that they will rejoin the table having flushed away some of their ignorance and feeling all the better for it.
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TOM BAIRD
and ARTHUR HOUSE
What on Earth is Going On?
A Crash Course in Current Affairs
We wrote this book with a shared conviction that a) most people’s knowledge of current affairs is a lot worse than they would like to admit, b) it wouldn’t hurt to start filling in the gaps, and c) while many of these issues are dauntingly complex, they would never-theless benefit from a clear and concise introduction.
Keeping up with the news is an interminably tall order. The media deluge us with so much content each day that by the time we’ve digested the headlines, a new day arrives and we have to start all over again. It’s not surprising that many of us choose to stick our heads in the sand and avoid it completely.
But that’s not the only alternative. The media would have us believe that events of earth-shattering importance happen every single day and that only by remaining glued to the 24-hour news cycle can we have any hope of keeping ourselves informed. Of course this isn’t true. Just as important as keeping up-to-date is understanding the root causes behind issues, and gaining some perspective on how they have developed over time.
Our hope is that What on Earth is Going On? will help achieve this. It is a book for the bedside table, the morning commute or the downstairs loo, where it can be consulted by the confused dinner party guest who has taken refuge from the conversation next door. We hope that they will rejoin the table having flushed away some of their ignorance, and feeling all the better for it.
TOM BAIRD and ARTHUR HOUSE, August 2009
Table of Contents
Some basic facts
Afghanistan is one of the world’s poorest countries, the result of decades of war and political instability which have hindered its development and crippled its economy. Its literacy rates are among the lowest in the world (51% for men and 21% for women) and average life expectancy is only 43. Afghanistan’s extensive natural resources (which include copper, gold, iron ore, gemstones, petroleum and natural gas) remain largely untapped. Instead, much of the country’s revenue comes from cultivating poppies, which are used to produce 95% of the world’s heroin. The population of around 32 million is almost entirely Muslim (roughly 80% Sunni, 20% Shi’a—see Islam), but ethnically diverse and multilingual. The most common language is Persian, spoken by around 80% of the population, followed by Pashto, the language of the Pashtun people, who dominate the southern lowlands of the country and constitute its largest ethnic group (42% of the population; groups dominating the centre and northern regions include Tajiks (27%), Hazaras (9%) and Uzbeks (9%)). Afghans usually place their loyalties with their tribe or local clan leader. This, combined with the mountainous and rugged terrain of much of the country, limits the power of state government (the current president Hamid Karzai’s nickname is the ‘Mayor of Kabul’).
Has it always been a war-torn country?
Afghanistan’s importance as a focal point for trade and migration between East and West has seen it possessed and conquered by a host of peoples throughout history, including Arabs, Persians, Turks, Macedonians, Mongols and Mughals. In the 19th century the country was of key strategic importance in the ‘Great Game’ between Russia and the British empire; after several Anglo-Afghan wars, it fell into British hands before regaining independence in 1919. Sixty years later, Afghanistan once again became the pawn in a struggle between two superpowers, this time the Cold War adversaries: the USSR and the USA.
What happened?
In 1979 the CIA began funding the Mujahedeen, an Islamist group composed of diverse factions and local warlords who opposed the communist secular government. The Soviet Red Army intervened to support the government, and were dragged into a decade-long war against the US-sponsored Mujahedeen that Soviet premier Mikhail Gorbachev referred to as a ‘bleeding wound’. Eventually the dogged resistance and guerrilla tactics of the Mujahedeen forced the Soviets to pull out in 1989. The US lost interest in Afghanistan after the collapse of the USSR, and the country entered a volatile period in which the Mujahedeen ousted the communist government and took control of the capital, Kabul, in 1992. During the ensuing ‘reign of chaos’ a new Islamist group, the Taleban, arose in opposition.
