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Paper short abstract

This work anticipates the elucidation that the determinant factor in Taliban’s complex scheme of authoritarian style of rule is either their religious deontology rooted in the hermeneutic of Islam lopsidedly politicized or their political ideology profoundly religionized.

Paper long abstract

In the convoluted history of Afghan politics, the Talibanization phenomenon reflects a complicated nexus of religious deontology and political ideology. The Taliban-brand deontology – their commitment as a moral obligation to waging war against all anti-Islamic forces – has been manifesting in terms of their strict adherence to the fundamentalist interpretation of Islam. They have been putting all their efforts into flourishing practices and norms in order to establish a religious-sociopolitical order that they think they are divinely mandated for as the vicegerent of God on earth. This reflects their dedication to the religious-cum-deontological framework guiding their actions as obligatory pursuits as per their interpretation of Islam. The politico-ideological foundations of the Talibanization phenomenon is characterized by the accumulation of power as an instrument to validate their religious-deontological commitment. This dual nexus of religious deontology and political ideology can be defined as a pragmatic resolution where ends are justifying means and the selective religious principles are hermeneutically employed for fulfilling their political-ideological desires. Furthermore, the calculated interplay of religious intensity with political strategy has already created a highly persuasive narrative for the Afghan people. Now in the Afghan social order, the deontology-ideology composite defines the Taliban dominion as a dynamic synthesis of the religious absolutism and the political expediency, whereby religious obligations strengthen political aspirations and political aspirations exploit religious principles. The power practice of Taliban in terms of their religiously dominated politics has given rise to extremism that has complicated the structure of international relations in the region.