Reviewer: Dr Konstantinos D. Karatzas
Original Publication: The Global Institute for Research & Education Scholarship
Date of Publication: 13 November 2019
Photo credit: Mehdi Khoshnejad/ Pexels
External Review
This review of America in Afghanistan: Foreign Policy and Decision Making from Bush to Obama to Trump by Sharifullah Dorani was written by Konstantinos D. Karatzas and originally published on 13 November 2019 on the Global Institute for Research & Education Scholarship website.
Key Comment
Karatzas praises Dorani’s book as a deeply informed and profoundly human account that blends geopolitical analysis with lived experience, giving readers unprecedented insight into Afghanistan’s modern history from an Afghan perspective.
Summary of the Review
In this review, Konstantinos D. Karatzas highlights America in Afghanistan as more than a conventional policy study: it is a narrative that immerses readers in the lived realities of Afghan society and the long arc of war that has shaped it. Dorani’s voice, shaped by his own experiences growing up in Afghanistan and later academic research, provides a personal dimension to the examination of US foreign policy.
Karatzas notes the book’s chronological structure, which traces major decisions by Presidents George W Bush, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump from 2001 to 2018. Each phase is analysed through discussions, debates, and cabinet-level decision making, giving the impression of being present as key strategic moments unfolded.
The reviewer emphasises that Dorani’s work goes beyond surface-level interpretation by incorporating the views of Afghans themselves. Drawing on his knowledge of Pashto and Dari sources as well as English-language material, Dorani brings forward perspectives that are often inaccessible to international readers. This allows the book to present Afghanistan’s internal challenges—such as political fragmentation, the impotence of successive governments, and the frustrations of ordinary citizens—with real nuance and depth.
Karatzas also underscores Dorani’s careful distancing from overly simplistic or conspiratorial explanations while refraining from offering definitive answers. Instead, the book encourages readers to draw their own conclusions about the effects of foreign intervention and the Afghan people’s enduring hunger for peace and self-determination.
Ultimately, the reviewer concludes that the book is an important and well-researched study that should not be missed by anyone seeking to understand Afghanistan’s contemporary history, a narrative often obscured or simplified by mass media.
➡Read the full review: America in Afghanistan – Book Review
*Dr Sharifullah Dorani holds a PhD from Durham University on America’s Afghanistan War, a Master of Laws from University College London, and a degree in law from the University of Northampton, all in the UK. He is the author of numerous scholarly articles and two acclaimed books: The Lone Leopard, a novel set in Afghanistan, and America in Afghanistan, published by Bloomsbury Publishing. He is the founder of CEPSAF and serves as the South Asia and Middle Eastern Editor at CESRAN International. All of Dr Dorani’s work is written to the highest academic standards, is widely indexed through Google Scholar, and is available in the libraries of hundreds of institutions worldwide, including Oxford and Harvard.