The Quiet Violence of Empire: How USAID Waged Counterinsurgency in Afghanistan

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has been involved in development work in Afghanistan since the early sixties, and The Quiet Violence of Empire reveals an empirically rich account of the transnational entanglements of imperialism and racial capitalism. Three case studies expose how USAIDs commitment to bringing self-help, technical assistance, and market development to Afghanistan has been undergirded by longer-standing infrastructures of race war and racial management, constraining the life chances of Afghan beneficiaries while diverting development capital back to U.S. contractors.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 328 pages
Publication date: 11 April 2023
Publisher: University of Minnesota Press

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID), established in 1961 by President Kennedy, has been a persistent presence in Afghanistan since the early 1960s. The book "The Quiet Violence of Empire" by Wesley Attewell delves into USAID's long and bloody history of development work in the region, offering an empirically rich account of the transnational entanglements of imperialism and racial capitalism.

Attewell examines three chronological moments of development as counterinsurgency in action: the Helmand Valley Project, the Soviet-Afghan conflict, and the post-9/11 occupation in Afghanistan. Through these case studies, he exposes how USAID's public commitment to bringing seemingly inclusive forms of self-help, technical assistance, and market development to Afghanistan has been underpinned by longer-standing infrastructures of race war and racial management.

One of the significant consequences of USAID's development mission in Afghanistan has been to limit the life chances of Afghan beneficiaries while redirecting development capital back to U.S. contractors. Attewell deftly highlights this aspect, underscoring the notion of development as a form of slow violence.

"The Quiet Violence of Empire" poses a critical question: how can we refuse the ruse of USAID and its endlessly deferred promise of development? By thinking relationally across the fields of human geography, global studies, and critical ethnic studies, the book uncovers the explicitly racial underpinnings of international development theory and praxis.

In conclusion, "The Quiet Violence of Empire" is a groundbreaking work that sheds light on the complex and often unseen dynamics of power and development in Afghanistan. It challenges the dominant narratives of progress and humanitarianism and exposes the racialized foundations of international development. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in understanding the complexities of the post-1945 Afghan landscape and the ongoing struggles for justice and equality.

Weight: 428g
Dimension: 140 x 217 x 19 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781517907907