Typological Analysis of Discursive Roots of Taliban

The Taliban discourse is not a monolith but is rooted in historical discourses throughout the history of Afghanistan. These roots are divisible into two major religious and social groups that hold commonalities and differences. These features and internal discursive conflicts subsequently lead the group to sometimes-controversial behavior. The present paper has tried to identify and analyze these discursive roots using Laclau and Mufe's discourse analysis to subsequently identify the implications of these features on the discursive cohesion of the Taliban.  It becomes clear at the end that these roots have contributed to two distinct identities inside the group that one identity may prevail over the other if its supporters take control. The balance between these two identities is embedded in the articulation of the signifiers. Accordingly, the discourse of the Taliban is so disintegrated that every articulation is depends on the background of the people taking control as local commanders who may further contribute to the emergence of signified notions.