Days of Opportunity - (Global America) by Robert Rakove (Paperback)

About the Book

Robert B. Rakove sheds new light on the little-known and often surprising history of U.S. engagement in Afghanistan from the 1920s to the 1979 Soviet invasion, tracing its evolution and exploring its lasting consequences.

Book Synopsis

Honorable Mention, 2025 Charles H. Norchi Prize, Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland

Long before the 1979 Soviet invasion, the United States was closely concerned with Afghanistan. For much of the twentieth century, American diplomats, policy makers, businesspeople, and experts took part in the Afghan struggle to modernize, delivered vital aid, and involved themselves in Kabul's conflicts with its neighbors. For their own part, many Afghans embraced the potential benefits of political and commercial ties with the United States. Yet these relationships ultimately helped make the country a Cold War battleground.

Robert B. Rakove sheds new light on the little-known and often surprising history of U.S. engagement in Afghanistan from the 1920s to the Soviet invasion, tracing its evolution and exploring its lasting consequences. Days of Opportunity chronicles the battle for influence in Kabul, as Americans contended with vigorous communist bloc competition and the independent ambitions of successive Afghan governments. Rakove examines the phases of peaceful Cold War competition, including development assistance, cultural diplomacy, and disaster relief. He demonstrates that Americans feared the "loss" of Afghanistan to Soviet influence--and were never simply bystanders, playing pivotal roles in the country's political life. The ensuing collision of U.S., Soviet, and Afghan ambitions transformed the country--and ultimately led it, and the world, toward calamity.

Harnessing extensive research in U.S. and international archives, Days of Opportunity unveils the remarkable and tragic history of American involvement in Afghanistan.

Review Quotes

The definitive account of US-Afghan relations prior to 1979...Days of Opportunity should be essential reading for historians of Afghanistan, historians of the Cold War, and readers interested in how the United States may exert influence in settings where it is a runner-up to rival powers.--Timothy Nunan "Diplomatic History"

In Days of Opportunity, Rakove uncovers the largely overlooked history of U.S.-Afghanistan relations across the twentieth century. Through expert storytelling and meticulous archival research, he details the two countries' long, promising, yet frustrating relationship during the decades preceding the Soviet invasion. Rakove gives Afghanistan the attention it deserves as a critical player in twentieth-century international politics.--Elisabeth Leake, author of Afghan Crucible: The Soviet Invasion and the Making of Modern Afghanistan

In a narrative built on rich detail about individual diplomatic actors and their alliances, rivalries, and networks, Rakove offers tremendous insight on the extent, complexities, and contingencies of the Afghan-American bilateral relationship during the interwar and Cold War eras.--Shah Mahmoud Hanifi, author of Connecting Histories in Afghanistan

This outstanding study offers the most comprehensive exposition and analysis to date of the Afghan-American relationship through the end of the 1970s. Based on extensive archival research, it provides essential context for anyone who seeks to understand the complex historical roots of America's failures in Afghanistan.--Robert McMahon, author of Dean Acheson and the Creation of an American World Order

Through expansive multinational archival research, Robert B. Rakove weaves together local, national, and international threads that shaped the history of modern Afghanistan and its engagement with the world. Days of Opportunity is a compelling account of how the nation came to be embroiled in U.S.-Soviet Cold War conflict and the terrible costs to the Afghan people.--Mary L. Dudziak, author of War Time: An Idea, Its History, Its Consequences

About the Author

Robert B. Rakove is a lecturer in international relations at Stanford University. He is the author of Kennedy, Johnson, and the Nonaligned World (2012).