The Forgotten Peace Marches of Afghanistan: Local Sentiment and International Power-Game

Abstract

This article brings to surface peace marches held in Afghanistan briefly before the Afghan government’s collapse, to demonstrate that grass-root level political atmosphere cannot hold ground against the geo-strategic designs of global power. For this purpose, it traces the origin and spread of peace marches in Afghanistan, and the varied responses toward them. The approach taken is exploratory with peace marches as unit of analysis. The data sources are secondary, available on internet. The paper argues that public opinion alone cannot change the political landscape, particularly in a militarized terrain contested by great powers. Although there was a widespread quest for peace in Afghanistan, it lacked a robust and vocal civil society which could change the course of history for the Afghan people. In doing so, this article also documents Afghanistan’s seemingly insignificance marches for peace.