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For almost 100 years, institutional music education in Afghanistan has both thrived and been devastated as a result of the country’s political changes and upheavals. This thesis explores the place and role of institutional music education within Afghanistan’s recent liberal peacebuilding era (2001–2021) and considers how international agendas during this time were translated into educational initiatives on the ground. Despite increased academic and media interest in the country’s music education initiatives during the last decade, little attention has been paid to the experiences and motivations of the students themselves. Focussing on the case study of the Afghanistan National Institute of Music (ANIM), this research investigates what institutional music education afforded individuals and social groups, what stakeholders wanted to achieve by engaging with music education, and how individuals conceptualised their role as musicians within Afghan society and beyond. Using a critical ethnography approach, this research also looks beyond ANIM’s public narrative to interrogate taken-for-granted claims about social transformation and societal change through music. The research found that during the past two decades, institutional music education was used by ANIM’s community, collaborators, and supporters to contribute to three key themes associated with Afghanistan’s post-2001 reconstruction: first, the advancement of the liberal values of individualism and freedom; second, the promotion of women’s rights and freedoms within public space; and third, the development of cultural diplomacy efforts linked to Afghanistan’s global reputation and bilateral relations with other nations. In addressing and responding to many of the country’s historical and contemporary challenges, institutional music education functioned as a vehicle for imagining and projecting into alternative futures and for presenting a utopian image of Afghanistan. However, the findings of the research also elucidate asymmetrical power relations within ANIM’s educational processes and its interactions with other organisations and reveal tensions around the use of music education to further geopolitical agendas. Finally, this thesis reflects upon the recent return of the Taliban regime and the implications of this political change for the future of music education in Afghanistan.

Un síndrome es la suma de signos y síntomas clínicos que concurren juntamente en la determinación de cualquier estado patológico. En 1932 Gaither ell un artículo intitulado "Síndromes abdominales de interés excepcional, sus bases patológicas" se refiere a los síndromes abdominales más interesantes y de más actualidad; porque a medida que realizamos una más estrecha asociación entre la region ileo-cecal, el estómago y el hígado, más rápidamente también nos acercamos a la posición en la cual se clasifica el diagnóstico y tratamiento de tales estados patológicos por medio de la medicina o la cirugía.