Book Review: Talibanistan: Negotiating the Borders Between Terror, Politics, and Religion

As the United States continues to debate the size and longevity of its deployment of combat forces in Afghanistan, two books seek to provide nuanced analysis to a complex struggle that began long before the arrival of American boots on the ground, and will continue long after the longest war in U.S. history comes to a close. Both Talibanistan and Apocalyptic Realm seek to offer a holistic yet detailed perspective on the ongoing struggle among the ruling regimes in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and India, and the multitude of Islamist armed groups—ranging from Al Qaeda to the Haqqani Network, from Lashkar-e-Taiba to the Taliban in all of its forms—which the regimes simultaneously seek to support, marginalize, co-opt, or destroy. Talibanistan’s original empirics and blend of analysis at the macro and micro levels make it the far more significant contribution to the field.