Rethinking geography's explanations of contemporary imperialism after the US occupation of Afghanistan

Abstract

The prolonged US war in Afghanistan presents a challenge to prevailing geographical explanations of imperialism. This article argues that a more robust understanding of this conflict, and contemporary imperialism more broadly, requires moving beyond dominant theoretical approaches within the discipline that tend to overemphasize cultural factors and rely on overly abstract conceptualizations. While existing geographic scholarship offers valuable insights into the spatial and discursive dimensions of the Afghan conflict, it often lacks a compelling explanation of the underlying material forces at play. Drawing inspiration from critiques of Edward Said's Orientalism, the article contends that an emphasis on cultural factors, as seen in works like Derek Gregory's The Colonial Present, risks obscuring the fundamental role of state power and capitalist interests. Examining the trajectory of the US occupation, the article critiques the limitations of both culturalist arguments and David Harvey's theory of a “new imperialism” when applied to this specific context, highlighting how both can lead to an unproductive level of abstraction. To move beyond these limitations, the article proposes a renewed focus on the capitalist state as the central actor in contemporary imperialism. It concludes that a more causally-minded approach, centered on the internationalization of state power and its internal logic, is essential for understanding the complexities of imperial projects and offers geography greater explanatory power in analyzing conflicts like the one in Afghanistan.