Abstract
During the constitutional monarchy, deteriorating living conditions, rising unemployment, and administrative corruption intensified the drive for radical transformation as the ruling elite failed to come up with appropriate responses to improve the situation. The pro-Soviet Hizb-e-Demokratik-e-Khalq-e-Afghanistan (Peoples’ Democratic Party of Afghanistan [PDPA]) lacked the capacity for a grassroots revolution and they viewed a military coup as the quickest route to seize power. Senior leaders of the Parcham faction of the PDPA, which cultivated good relations with former prime minister Mohammad Daoud (he strengthened ties with the Soviet Union during his tenure [1953–63]), began to collaborate with him and supported his political agenda to establish a republican regime. Parcham maintained that supporting and working with Daoud would provide the party with public acceptability and that a figurehead leader with no Socialist credentials would be more acceptable in a traditionally conservative society.
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Notes
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© 2010 Hafizullah Emadi
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Emadi, H. (2010). Military Putsch and Regime Change. In: Dynamics of Political Development in Afghanistan. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230112001_4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230112001_4
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