Enlightenment Movement and the Change of Collective Behavior in Afghanistan

The shape and form of social action in post-Taliban Afghanistan is different than that of the past. Government repression, militarism and the religious politics used to dominate Afghanistan in the Taliban era. However, the recently formed EnlightenmentMovement (2016) follows a peaceful approach to achieve its demands. Understanding this movement requires a basic knowledge of the modern dynamics of the political sociology of Afghanistan. This economic movement was the response of Hazara ethnicity to the shift of the electricity transmission line from Bamyan to Salang. This research investigates the background of peaceful occurrence of the Enlightenment Movement and its consequences. According to our hypothesis, democracy and modernization in Afghanistan have paved the way for the emergence of civil movements such as the Enlightenment. The hypothesis has been tested based on the collective behavior theory of Smelser. According to the findings, the increasing demand for economic justice and political participation by ethnic and religious minorities is a result of democracy in Afghanistan. Consequently, economic movements and peaceful competition over the fair distribution of energy resources (wealth) are a new form of collective action in post-Taliban Afghanistan.