Failed great power war and the Soviet retreat from Afghanistan

Bibliographic Data

ID11222148
AuthorsSanjay Yadav (0000-0002-1450-3202, corresponding author), Sanjay Singh Yadav
Year1989
Volume8
Issue3
Pages353-368
Publication date1989-01-01
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueComparative Strategy (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0149-5933 • E-ISSN: 1521-0448
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/01495938908402788
OpenAlexW2084612394
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited4

This paper addresses the following question: why has the Soviet Union, a superpower, suffered defeat against the apparently weaker and smaller forces of the Afghan guerrillas and been compelled to withdraw? In searching for answers the author employs the comparative method of foreign policy analysis, examines some similar conflicts of the past, and develops a set of interpretive propositions to explain major power defeat in Afghanistan‐type wars. The conclusion reached is that in a bi‐or multipolar system, as distinct from a hegemonic one, a great power cannot insulate a protracted war and manage it independently. Soviet progress in Afghanistan has been countered by American assistance on the resistance side. Armed by the United States, the resistance has imposed an unwinnable guerrilla war on the Soviets. Hence the Soviet withdrawal. In the absence of systemic bi‐ to multipolarity, the Soviet invasion would probably have succeeded

Afghan · Development economics · Economics · Great power · Guerrilla warfare · Hegemony · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Power (physics · Resistance (ecology · Sociology · Soviet union · Spanish Civil War · Superpower · International Relations and Foreign Policy · Law · Military History and Strategy · Politics and Conflicts in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Middle East

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