Afganistanisme adalah istilah yang pertama kali dicatat di Amerika Serikat,[1] untuk praktik memusatkan perhatian pada masalah di belahan dunia yang jauh dengan mengabaikan masalah-masalah lokal yang kontroversial.[2][3] Dalam konteks lain, istilah ini merujuk pada "ilmu pengetahuan yang sangat misterius dan tidak relevan",[4]"ketertarikan pada negeri yang jauh dan eksotis,"[5] atau "menepuk dan mengepalkan tangan Anda pada musuh yang tak terlihat yang tidak menyadari keberadaan Anda, apalagi amarah Anda."[6]
Tom Kamara, "Woes of the African Journalist," The Perspective, March 12, 2001 "For example, few in Europe knew if a country called Guinea existed. But this has changed since a European, The Netherlands' Ruud Lubbers, is now head of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) faced with mounting refugee problems in that country. Guinea is now known, particularly in Holland. His presence there is news, and if the plight of tens of thousands of refugees is mentioned in passing, good luck! (This is journalism, what used to be called 'Afghanistanism' — distant issues not to bother home readers with.")
Kombo Mason Braide, "Pseudo-Afghanistanism & The Nigeria Intellectual," Niger Delta Congress website "Afghanistanism crept into contemporary Nigerian journalese around 1984, during the military dictatorship of Major General Mohammadu Buhari, who grossly breached the fundamental human right of freedom of expression of Nigerians with impunity. Essentially, Mohammadu Buhari made it a crime for his subjects to think. In a frenzy of conceited righteousness, he dished out a farrago of stiff sanctions against anyone who dared to express opinions (true or not) that could embarrass public officers (like him!)."
George Pyle, "Afghanistanism, the Next Generation," Buffalo News, October 14, 2009. "The old cliche among editorial writers was that if you didn't have the nerve to write something critical of the governor, the mayor or the school board -- or if they hadn't given you cause to write something critical of them -- you could always write about Afghanistan."
Jeff Simon, "A Great Day for Couric and CBS News" (commentary), Buffalo News, October 9, 2009. "Afghanistanism . . . was, according to a journalistic elder a few decades ago, the perfect word to describe lengthy journalism about some absurdly far-flung place . . . that couldn’t possibly matter to a reader or TV watcher as much as a new carpet store in your favorite plaza or a local church deacon busted for cleaning out the rectory safe."