Study of Neutrality Factors of Afghanistan in World War I (1914-1919)

The World War I, which is known as a Great War until the outbreak of World War II, is the first large-scale and pervasive war in history involving various countries from different continents. For the first time in the history, all five members of European Concert and 35 other countries participated in the war. The war began between the Allied and Central Powers in Europe, and with the entrance of the Ottoman Empire in favor of the allies, it expanded to more parts of North Africa and the Middle East. Britain, France, and Russia were on the Allied front, and the central powers such as Germany, Austria, and the Ottoman Empire were on the opposite side. Since Russia and Britain were side by side on a single front against the central powers, they sensed the need to reach an agreement on their sphere of influence in Central and South Asia, and thus achieve two main goals. On the one hand, they had to relieve themselves of colonial rivalries and confrontations over division of the colonies; and on the other hand, they had to create obstacles against the influence of the Central powers in this region, by handling the foreign policy of these areas and keep this region calm and neutral, . Given to this situation, Afghanistan under Amir Habibullah Khan`s reign had no choice but to follow Abdul Rahman's foreign and domestic policy. Abdul Rahman Khan`s policy was to remain silent and incapable against excessive British influence in country`s affairs, and to adopt neutrality and non-interference policy in foreign relations without British advice and permission. The point to be noted here is the public and the national religious stratum of Afghanistan supported the Central Powers and they were opposite to the allied. There might be two possible reasons for this; first, the emergence of Ottomans in the First world war as a part of the Central Powers, which was led by the Islamic Caliph, initiate a kind of popular religious allegiance among the masses in Islamic countries, who considered the Central Powers as supporters and defenders of Islam, and the allies as the enemies of Islam. The second reason lay down in traditional hostility of Afghans to the British. Because Afghanistan had fought the British several times, and these wars and British colonial policies had created hatred and disgust among the citizens of Afghanistan.