Even among smart dissident types, the default explanation for the Taliban’s victory in Afghanistan is basically just “grit” and “sticktuitiveness” and “giving 110%” (plus maybe “asabiyyah”, which is a $10 dissident word for “teamwork”). But if that was the secret sauce, it doesn’t explain why ISIS collapsed under comparatively light military pressure, never to return; or why Al Qaeda is basically a dead meme.
Caught this via my podcast app today. I wasn't sure where this was going for a while, but by the end you brought the points all together very well. These are certainly points that anybody seeking to build alternative/parallel systems need to consider from a strategic perspective.
Seems comparable to cartels running municipal services in some bits of Mexico
Caught this via my podcast app today. I wasn't sure where this was going for a while, but by the end you brought the points all together very well. These are certainly points that anybody seeking to build alternative/parallel systems need to consider from a strategic perspective.