Postage Stamps Commemorating Afghanistan's Independence Day, 1920–2019: An Analysis and Interpretation

This article focuses on the description and analysis of postage stamps printed in Afghanistan to commemorate the anniversary of Independence Day. The study covers a period of one hundred years, from 1920 to 2019. Presented chronologically, the analysis identifies various symbols that are connected to the idea of independence and examines the relationships between these symbols and the dynamics of changes on the domestic political scene. The findings suggest a deliberate decision-making process in the selection of symbols, driven by specific ideological and political objectives, although the question regarding the factual influence of the stamp-oriented policy still needs to be researched. The article concludes with statistical data on the frequency of use of individual symbols and provides several examples of the postage stamps analyzed here.