TY  - BOOK
AU  - ISRAELI Ofer
TI  - The roundabout outcomes of the Soviet-Afghan war
PY  - 2022///
KW  - SOVIET-AFGHAN WAR
KW  - BIPOLARITY
KW  - COLD WAR
KW  - SUPERPOWER RIVALRY
KW  - AFGHANISTAN
KW  - UNITED STATES (US)
KW  - SOVIET UNION
N2  - This paper demonstrates that when a superpower within a bipolar system fights against a small rival either that is located beyond its sphere of influence or that has geostrategic importance to the other acting superpower, other forces matter more than the distribution of capabilities between the belligerents. Within the study I review two primary explanations for the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan. Despite the strong resistance of local forces to the Soviet presence in Afghanistan, mainly by the Afghan Mujahedeen, Moscow failed to predict the political outcomes of the war. It was in fact a series of negative feedbacks that caused Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan after a decade-long intervention that did not achieve any political goals. One such example was the direct strike against the Soviet presence in Afghanistan, launched and coordinated by the United States as the other acting superpower under the bipolar system of that time
UR  - https://muse.jhu.edu/article/846284
ER  -