Synopsis
"The Quiet Violence of Empire: How USAID Waged Counterinsurgency in Afghanistan" by Wesley Attewell offers a compelling and critical examination of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and its role in Afghanistan from the mid-20th century onward. Attewell, an assistant professor of political geography at the University of Hong Kong, frames USAID not merely as a benevolent provider of aid but as a key instrument of U.S. imperial power, deeply intertwined with counterinsurgency efforts and the broader dynamics of racial capitalism. Established in 1961 under President John F. Kennedy, USAID has maintained a persistent presence in Afghanistan since the early 1960s, and Attewell traces this "long and bloody history" to reveal how its development initiatives have served as a form of "slow violence," constraining Afghan livelihoods while reinforcing U.S. geopolitical and economic interests.
The book is structured around three pivotal historical moments that illustrate USAID’s development work as a tool of counterinsurgency: the Helmand Valley Project, the Soviet-Afghan conflict, and the post-9/11 U.S. occupation of Afghanistan. The Helmand Valley Project, initiated in the mid-20th century, aimed to modernize Afghan agriculture through large-scale irrigation and infrastructure development, ostensibly to foster self-help and economic growth. However, Attewell argues that this project imposed Western models of progress, disrupting local lifeways and laying the groundwork for future interventions. During the Soviet-Afghan conflict in the 1980s, USAID shifted its focus to supporting the mujahideen by channeling non-lethal aid across borders, a logistical effort that blurred the lines between humanitarianism and military strategy. This period saw USAID’s work dovetail with Cold War objectives, using development as a weapon against Soviet influence. Finally, in the post-9/11 era, USAID’s role expanded dramatically under the U.S. occupation, aligning with the "clear, hold, build" counterinsurgency doctrine. Here, development projects—often framed as efforts to win "hearts and minds"—served to stabilize occupied territories while funneling resources back to American contractors, highlighting the extractive nature of these initiatives.
Attewell’s analysis transcends a simple historical recounting by situating USAID’s actions within a broader theoretical framework that draws on human geography, global studies, and critical ethnic studies. He contends that the agency’s public commitment to inclusionary ideals like technical assistance and market development masks a deeper infrastructure of "race war and racial management." This racialized lens, he argues, has consistently shaped USAID’s approach, positioning Afghan communities as subjects to be ordered and controlled rather than empowered. The notion of development as "slow violence" is central to his thesis: rather than delivering on its promises of progress, USAID’s interventions have often limited the life chances of Afghans, perpetuating dependency and diverting capital to U.S. interests. This critique is enriched by Attewell’s attention to the transnational entanglements of imperialism, showing how Afghanistan became a laboratory for reimagining development as a tool of empire.
Ultimately, "The Quiet Violence of Empire" poses a provocative question: how can we reject USAID’s deceptive promise of development? Attewell does not offer easy answers but urges readers to confront the racial and imperial underpinnings of international development theory and practice. The book has been praised for its rich detail and thoughtful argumentation, with scholars like Laleh Khalili noting its revelation of U.S. aid as a form of "race war" and a critical lens on the 21st-century war in Afghanistan. Attewell’s work challenges the sanitized narrative of development as a universal good, exposing its complicity in violence and domination. Through meticulous historical analysis and a relational approach across disciplines, he provides an empirically grounded yet theoretically bold account that forces a reckoning with the hidden costs of empire-building in Afghanistan.