Afghanistan : aid, armies and empires / Peter Marsden.

“Distributed in the United States and Canada exclusively by Palgrave Macmillan, New York”—reverse of title page.

“as the battle for Afghanistan intensifies, with the NATO-led coalition seemingly unable to defeat the Taliban, and struggling in its nation-building efforts, Afghanistan expert Peter Marsden looks at why it is that the great powers, from 19th-century Britain to the 20th-century Soviet Union to 21st-century America, have so often been frustrated in attempting to impose their will on this strategically vital country…”—back cover.

Includes bibliographical references.

Contents: 1. Introduction (p. 1)—2. The great game (p. 7)—3. The build-up to the Soviet intervention (p. 27)—4. The Soviet military intervention (p. 43)—5. The build-up to the US-led intervention (p. 65)—6. The US-led military intervention (p. 95)—7. The relationship between US strategy and the aid process (p. 117)—8. The specific impact of development and humanitarian assistance (p. 137)—9. The interface between NGOs and the international military (p. 169)—10. Conclusions (p. 197)—Endnotes (p. 229)—Index (p. 231).