Omar Sadr

Academic and Author

Negotiating Cultural Diversity in Afghanistan

Book

Negotiating Cultural Diversity in Afghanistan

This book analyses the problematique of governance and administration of cultural diversity within the modern state of Afghanistan and traces patterns of national integration. It explores state construction in twentieth-century Afghanistan and Afghan nationalism, and explains the shifts in the state’s policies and societal responses to different forms of governance of cultural diversity. The book problematizes liberalism, communitarianism, and multiculturalism as approaches to governance of diversity within the nation-state. It suggests that while the western models of multiculturalism have recognized the need to accommodate different cultures, they failed to engage with them through intercultural dialogue. It also elaborates the challenge of intra-group diversity and the problem of accommodating individual choice and freedom while recognising group rights and adoption of multiculturalism. The book develops an alternative approach through synthesising critical multiculturalism and interculturalism as a framework on a democratic and inclusive approach to governance of diversity.

Winner of the 2022 Central Eurasian Studies Society (CESS) Best Book Award!

The Book Award Committee wrote about Sadr’s book:

It has a solid theoretical background; the author utilized appropriate methodology to solve his thought-provoking research question. The research is a case study on Afghanistan, yet theoretically, it contributes to the cultural diversity and integration debates almost everywhere in the world. Sadr tackles the problem of cultural diversity from an interesting angle; that of the grassroots and local intellectual. This also sheds light on the problems related to the top-down nation-building efforts of the Afghan state for the last few decades and offers useful solutions to them.

Endorsements

Omar Sadr attempts a well-founded analysis of the identity politics in Afghanistan. His central argument that for democracy to be a successful project, it must be grounded in the representation of cultural diversity—is pertinent to contemporary Afghanistan. Sadr’s contribution to the discourse on multiculturalism addresses a crucial gap in the literature on Afghanistan, making it significant for its academic worth and its relevance to policy.

Jayashree Vivekanandan Department of International Relations, South Asian University, New Delhi, India

Drawing on contemporary normative literature, both from political theory and international relations, Omar Sadr makes a compelling case for preserving cultural diversity in Afghanistan. This work is laudable and well-timed, considering a growing perception that multiculturalism is on the wane globally. I am sure Sadr’s work will immensely profit scholars across disciplines and especially those keen to learn from a transnational mapping of multicultural theory and practice beyond the intellectual comfort zone of Western constructs.

Ashok Acharya Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Delhi, India

Reviews

Review by Mejgan Massoumi: in The Journal of Conflict Transformation and Security, Special Issue on “Security on Afghan Crisis – Decolonial Perspectives,” Vol. 10, No. 1, 2023: 76-81

Review by Soumya Awasthi in Vivekananda International Foundation, April 26, 2021

Book Talk

Book talk at University of Pittsburgh

Book Discussion in Farsi on Negotiating Ideas Podcast