Il tramonto della monarchia afghana: il difficile equilibrio tra tradizione e modernita = The decline of the Afghan monarchy: the difficult balance between tradition and modernity

This contribution examines the historical evolution of the Afghan monarchy, from the emergence of its first, embryonic form to the fall of Zahir Shah in 1973. A special focus will be devoted to the so-called “Zahir’s option”, the idea to restore the monarchy during the Bonn negotiations in 2001. The paper highlights the role of the monarchy in fostering national unity in a fragmented context and the tensions posed by modernization to the monarchy’s existence. The paper argues that the Afghan case well illustrates S. Huntington King’s dilemma. Keywords: Afghanistan; Monarchy; Constitutional monarchy; Constitutional reforms; Ethnic conflicts