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Abstract:After nearly twenty years of occupation and reconstruction, Afghanistan lacks a modern state. The dominant discourse absolves failures in the neoliberal approach to nation-building attributing Afghanistan's weak state to its inherent tribalism, a culture of corruption, and a historical absence of modern state institutions. Contrary to the dominant discourse, this paper provides a history of Afghan state formation and political modernization in the twentieth century. Afghanistan's modernization was internally contested, but by the 1970s the country had the features of a modern, secular state. It has been foreign intervention over the last forty years, in support of anti-modern, reactionary forces, that unmade the modern Afghan state. The neoliberal approach post-9/11, adopting the language of good governance and capacity-building, has made Afghanistan perpetually dependent on foreign assistance, rendering it a phantom state while erasing its history and undermining the political and institutional structures for a united, independent, and peaceful Afghanistan.

An essay is presented on the anniversary celebration of the publication of a book "Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community," by Martin Luther King. It offers a history of the U.S. and highlights the progress of civil rights for the Americans. It also presents an overview on the prevalence of global inequality, racism, and poverty in the country.

The author discusses the New York's Triborough Amendment to the Public Employees' Fair Employment Act, or the Taylor Law, arguing that it provides a degree of financial stability to public workers working without a labor contract even as it restricts trade union' right to strike.