Abhisri Nath ‘23

“Re-examining the Taliban: An Analysis Beyond a Pashtun Versus Islamic Dichotomy.”

Oberlin Shansi has awarded Abhisri Nath ‘23 the Shansi Prize for her outstanding scholarship on aspects of the Taliban’s political use of ethnic and religious identity in Afghanistan, a senior honors thesis completed under the mentorship of Dr. Rudabeh Shahid, current Visiting Assistant Professor of Politics.

Nath’s 108-page-long thesis stemmed from lingering questions she had after an independent study project in Geneva, Switzerland. “My research revealed more complexities — the Afghanistan conundrum turned into intersectional ties between ethnicity, religion, tribes, and geographical location. Soon, I was entangled in this web of identities in characterizing the context for the rise of the Taliban that could only be addressed through further research,” Nath wrote. Her extensive academic work included data sources from many places, from think tank and government reports to six anonymized expert interviews with IRB approval from various sectors and areas of expertise.

Nath mentions that she has goals to learn Pashto or Dari to increase her ability to access information about these issues. Along with this future goal, Nath will be pursuing a Masters in International Security at Georgetown University's Walsh School of Foreign Service, where she hopes to further explore aspects of her undergraduate thesis. Dr. Shahid noted, “Through a novel understanding of the Islamist movement, Abhisri's work provides a meaningful mechanism to articulate the Taliban's foreign policy, particularly in light of China's and India's growing influence in contemporary Afghanistan, and how the US might in the future want to engage with this Islamist movement.”

We agree with Dr. Shahid that this thesis aligns with Shansi’s mission of mutual understanding, respect, and cross-cultural learning, and congratulate Abhisri Nath on her hard work.