Much of what the Taliban do and how the movement operates can be explained by looking at the Taliban’s distinctive political culture.  This complex political culture, with its origins in both the madrassahs and the tribes of south-western Afghanistan, has helped to make the movement one of the most effective in Afghan history.  The Taliban movement has immunised itself against splits, it guards its secrets well, it has persuaded thousands of its members to make incredible sacrifices for the cause and for decades now the movement has sustained its central myth about an ameer directly inspired by God.  These capabilities are all aspects of the political culture which underpins the movement’s power.

This episode explores an aspect of Taliban political culture, what we refer to as the andiwal system. This system consists of the informal comrade networks which Taliban commanders used to mobilise fighters during successive stages of their armed struggle.  These networks now constitute an informal power structure operating inside the hierarchy of the Taliban-controlled state.  The episode considers the enduring significance of this andiwal system in understanding the Taliban approach to governance.

Podcast produced by Colm Heatley.