Editing Soviet–Afghan War (section)

=== Effect on Afghan society ===
The legacy of the war introduced a culture of guns, drugs and terrorism in Afghanistan. The traditional power structure was also changed in favor of the powerful Mujahideen militias:<ref name="cdlib">{{cite web|url=https://publishing.cdlib.org/ucpressebooks/view?docId=ft7b69p12h;chunk.id=0;doc.view=print|title=Afghanistan: The Soviet Invasion and the Afghan Response, 1979–1982 |first1=M. Hassan |last1=Kakar |date=1995 |website=UC Press E-Books Collection, 1982-2004 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230121200011/https://publishing.cdlib.org/ucpressebooks/view?docId=ft7b69p12h;chunk.id=0;doc.view=print |archive-date= Jan 21, 2023 }}</ref>

{{blockquote|"In present-day Afghanistan the groups of clergy, community elders, intelligentsia, and the military cannot be seen."<ref name="cdlib" />}}

The [[militarization]] transformed the society in the country, leading to heavily armed police, private bodyguards, and openly armed civil defense groups becoming the norm in Afghanistan both during the war and decades thereafter.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://prr.hec.gov.pk/jspui/bitstream/123456789/6891/1/Aqab_Mehmood_Malik_Strategic_%26_Nuclear_Studies_2015_NDU_19.05.2016.pdf |title= The Weaponization of Afghanistan and the Effects of Small Arms and Light Weapons on Conflict Dynamics |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200909110438/http://prr.hec.gov.pk/jspui/bitstream/123456789/6891/1/Aqab_Mehmood_Malik_Strategic_%26_Nuclear_Studies_2015_NDU_19.05.2016.pdf |archive-date=9 September 2020}}</ref>

The war also altered the ethnic balance of power in the country. While [[Pashtuns]] were historically politically dominant since the modern foundation of the [[Durrani Empire]] in 1747, many of the well-organized pro-Mujahideen or pro-government groups consisted of [[Tajiks]], [[Uzbeks]] and [[Hazaras]]. With Pashtuns increasingly politically fragmented, their influence on the state was challenged.<ref name="Noor-2007" />