The Afghan Mujahedeen: No Mere Proxies in East-West Relations

This chapter offers some important comments on the impact of the Afghan Mujahideen—in essence a prominent group of violent non-state actors—in the landscape of Cold War East-West relations. It takes into account the complex relationship among various Mujahideen factions, their leaders, strategies, and supporters. Rather than simplifying the narrative to center it on the United States (US) as the key supporter of the Mujahideen as proxies against the Soviet Union, this chapter underscores how key dynamics of the war in Afghanistan were shaped by actors like Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, China, and the Mujahideen themselves. Thus, the analysis here also points to the need for a more realistic assessment of the relative significance of US policy, to situate the appraisal of the overall relevance of the case for East-West relations in a discussion thus better informed.