I left things out - my motivations, my history, my emotional responses - because I am not good at understanding them or writing about them. I tried and it was generally boring and always unconvincing. Most importantly I wanted to try to place Afghans and Afghanistan in the foreground rather than my own character.
Rory StewartThe point about democracy is not that it delivers legitimate, effective, prosperous rule of law. It's not that it guarantees peace with itself or with its neighbors. ... Democracy matters because it reflects an idea of equality.
Rory StewartDemocracy is not simply a question of structures. It is a state of mind. It is an activity.
Rory StewartI do a lot of work with policymakers, but how much effect am I having? Itโs like theyโre coming in and saying to you, โIโm going to drive my car off a cliff. Should I or should I not wear a seatbelt?โ And you say, โI donโt think you should drive your car off the cliff.โ And they say, โNo, no, that bitโs already been decidedโthe question is whether to wear a seatbelt.โ And you say, โWell, you might as well wear a seatbelt.โ And then they say, โWeโve consulted with policy expert Rory Stewart and he says . . . .โ
Rory StewartI'd like to come back to the West eventually. In the end abroad I am always a stranger, active politics in particular is not accessible to me and although people are generous, I can never be on the inside of a culture that relies a great deal on the private space and the family.
Rory StewartIn the mountains, travelers were reduced to the speed of men on foot. Here, the ancient English sense of journey, 'a day's travel' (French journee), meant the same as the Old Persian word farsang, 'the distance a man could travel on foot in a day,' and the territory was in effect ungovernable.
Rory Stewart