Wikipedia:WikiProject Lists of basic topics/Draft/List of basic Afghanistan topics

Afghanistan is a culturally mixed nation, a crossroads between the East and the West, and has been an ancient focal point of trade and migration. It has an important geostrategical location, connecting South, Central and Southwest Asia. During its long history, the land has seen various invaders and conquerors, while on the other hand, local entities invaded the surrounding vast regions to form their own empires. Ahmad Shah Durrani created the Durrani Empire in 1747, with its capital at Kandahar.^[9] Subsequently, the capital was shifted to Kabul and most of its territories ceded to former neighboring countries. In the late 19th century, the state of Afghanistan was created as a buffer state in "The Great Game" played between the British Indian Empire and Russian Empire.^[10] On August 19, 1919, following the third Anglo-Afghan war, the country regained full independence from the United Kingdom over its foreign affairs.

Since the late 1970s Afghanistan has suffered continuous and brutal civil war, which included foreign interventions in the form of the 1979 Soviet invasion and the recent 2001 US-led invasion that toppled the Taliban government. In late 2001 the United Nations Security Council authorized the creation of an International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). This force is composed of NATO troops that are involved in assisting the government of President Hamid Karzai in establishing the writ of law as well as rebuilding key infrastructures in the nation. In 2005, the United States and Afghanistan signed a strategic partnership agreement committing both nations to a long-term relationship. In the meantime, multi-billion US dollars have also been provided by the international community for the reconstruction of the country.

The following outline is provided as an overview of and introduction to Afghanistan:

[edit] Geography of Afghanistan

[edit] Environment of Afghanistan

[edit] Natural geographic features of Afghanistan

[edit] Regions of Afghanistan

[edit] Ecoregions of Afghanistan

[edit] Administrative divisions of Afghanistan

[edit] Provinces of Afghanistan

[edit] Districts of Afghanistan

[edit] Demography of Afghanistan

[edit] Government and politics of Afghanistan

[edit] Branches of the government of Afghanistan

[edit] Executive branch of the government of Afghanistan

[edit] Legislative branch of the government of Afghanistan

[edit] Judicial branch of the government of Afghanistan

[edit] Foreign relations of Afghanistan

[edit] International organization membership

[edit] Law and order in Afghanistan

[edit] Military of Afghanistan

[edit] Local government in Afghanistan

[edit] History of Afghanistan

[edit] Culture of Afghanistan

[edit] The Arts in Afghanistan

[edit] Sports in Afghanistan

[edit] Economy of Afghanistan

[edit] Education in Afghanistan

[edit] Infrastructure of Afghanistan

[edit] See also

[edit] References

^ The 2007 Middle East & Central Asia Politics, Economics,and Society Conference University of Utah
^ "Regional Economic Outlook: Middle East & Central Asia" May 2006, International Monetary Fund
^ CIA world factbook, Afghanistan - Geography (Location: Southern Asia)
^ University of California, [1], University of Pennsylvania, World Bank; US maps; [2] ; University of Washington Syracuse University
^ Middle East Network Information Center (MENIC), University of Texas at Austin
^ Afghanistan Profile, National Geographic (accessed 20 January 2006)
^ Afghanistan, Middle East Institute (accessed 20 January 2006)
^ Footnote: The Government of India also considers Afghanistan to be a bordering country. This is because it considers the entire state of Jammu and Kashmir to be a part of India including the portion bordering Afghanistan. A ceasefire sponsored by the United Nations in 1948 froze the positions of Indian and Pakistani held territory. As a consequence, the region bordering Afghanistan is in Pakistani-administered territory.
^ Ahmad Shah Durrani, Britannica Concise.
^ The Decline of the Pashtuns in Afghanistan, Anwar-ul-Haq Ahady, Asian Survey, Vol. 35, No. 7. (Jul., 1995), pp. 621-634.
^ References and details on data provided in the table can be found within the individual provincial articles.
^ ISO 3166-2:AF ( ISO 3166-2 codes for the provinces of Afghanistan)

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