TRANSPORT FRAGMENTATION AND STATE PERIPHERALIZATION IN AFGHANISTAN: A WORLD-SYSTEMS PERSPECTIVE

The paper examines Afghanistan’s transport system through the lens of worldsystemstheory, focusing on how limited connectivity between Kabul and peripheral regionscontributes to internal fragmentation. Weak infrastructure integration not only constrainseconomic development but also reinforces political instability and dependence on external actors.The study argues that Afghanistan’s peripheral status is reproduced not only at the global levelbut also within its domestic spatial structure.