--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The first thing to recognize not just…" description: "\"The first thing to recognize not just about Afghanistan but about any poor undeveloped country is that as big as it looks on the map, it's much bigger ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ac/robert-d-kaplan-12644_afghanistan_the-first-thing-to-recognize-not-just-ab_2254560.jpg" --- # The first thing to recognize not just about Afghanistan… ![“The first thing to recognize not just about Afghanistan but about any poor undeveloped country is that as big as it looks on the map, it's much bigger when you're there.” quote by Robert D. Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ac/robert-d-kaplan-12644_afghanistan_the-first-thing-to-recognize-not-just-ab_2254560.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ac/robert-d-kaplan-12644_afghanistan_the-first-thing-to-recognize-not-just-ab_2254560.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ac/robert-d-kaplan-12644_afghanistan_the-first-thing-to-recognize-not-just-ab_2254560.jpg) > “The first thing to recognize not just about Afghanistan but about any poor undeveloped country is that as big as it looks on the map, it's much bigger when you're there.” [Robert D. Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-d-kaplan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Large countries feel even larger on the ground due to complex challenges. **In simple terms:** Big nations are harder to manage in reality. Key Takeaway Plan for on‑the‑ground complexities. Themes politics development scale Mood cautious analytical Type analysis warning When to use this quote - humanitarian aid - infrastructure projects - policy planning Key Concepts state capacity resource constraints Questions to Reflect On - How do you assess real conditions beyond maps? - What local factors could change outcomes? A Different Perspective Size can mask local nuances and resistance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Afghanistan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afghanistan/) [Bigger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bigger/) [Bigs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bigs/) [Country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/country/) [Country Big](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/country-big-344262/) [Firsts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/firsts/) [Just Afghanistan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/just-afghanistan-4853952/) [Looks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/looks/) [Map Bigger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/map-bigger-5162930/) [Maps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/maps/) [Poor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poor/) [Undeveloped Country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/undeveloped-country-3927060/) ## Related quotes > [Phoney: Here's your problem Fone Bone! We're off the map! Get a bigger map!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-smith/phoney-here-s-your-problem-fone-bone-we-re-off-the-map-get-a-bigger/) [Jeff Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-smith/) > [It bothers me that the executive branch is taking the amazing position that just on the president's say-so, any American citizen can be picked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-tribe/it-bothers-me-that-the-executive-branch-is-taking-the-amazing/) [Laurence Tribe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-tribe/) > [When you're a young pro from an undeveloped country in road cycling then you're on the back foot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-cavendish/when-you-re-a-young-pro-from-an-undeveloped-country-in-road-cycling/) [Mark Cavendish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-cavendish/) > [It's never easy to be a small country next to a big neighbor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-hsien-loong/it-s-never-easy-to-be-a-small-country-next-to-a-big-neighbor/) [Lee Hsien Loong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-hsien-loong/) > [I pretty much like all music except for country. I'm not a big fan of country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashley-benson/i-pretty-much-like-all-music-except-for-country-i-m-not-a-big-fan-of/) [Ashley Benson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashley-benson/) > [If there are men in this country big enough to own the government of the United States, they are going to own it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/if-there-are-men-in-this-country-big-enough-to-own-the-government-of/) [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) > [I'm more on the country side than big cities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-gasol/i-m-more-on-the-country-side-than-big-cities/) [Marc Gasol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-gasol/) > [“Our country is big, let us be big.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/our-country-is-big-let-us-be-big/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [We, Portuguese, make this country very big.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pepe/we-portuguese-make-this-country-very-big/) [Pepe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pepe/) > [I always play for my country when I can. It's a big honor for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonas-valanciunas/i-always-play-for-my-country-when-i-can-it-s-a-big-honor-for-me/) [Jonas Valanciunas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonas-valanciunas/) > [I'm an American, and always will be. I happen to love that big, awkward, sprawling country very much - and its big, awkward, sprawling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-jones/i-m-an-american-and-always-will-be-i-happen-to-love-that-big-awkward/) [James Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-jones/) > [The vast majority of local people will neither know all of the initiatives nor have any perception that the individual elements are beginning to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-burrell/the-vast-majority-of-local-people-will-neither-know-all-of-the/) [Paul Burrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-burrell/) > [When Apple introduced its game-changing iPhone in 2007, Nokia was caught sleeping on the job. Although it had actually developed an iPhone-style device -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noreena-hertz/when-apple-introduced-its-game-changing-iphone-in-2007-nokia-was/) [Noreena Hertz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noreena-hertz/) > [I liked climbing trees and could often be found up one reading a book. I played games with Dad and drew maps for him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhianna-pratchett/i-liked-climbing-trees-and-could-often-be-found-up-one-reading-a-book/) [Rhianna Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhianna-pratchett/) > [For the execution of the voyage to the Indies, I did not make use of intelligence, mathematics or maps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-columbus/for-the-execution-of-the-voyage-to-the-indies-i-did-not-make-use-of/) [Christopher Columbus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-columbus/) ## More by Robert D. Kaplan > [“And so this is where the post Cold War has brought us: to the recognition that the very totalitarism that we fought against in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-d-kaplan/and-so-this-is-where-the-post-cold-war-has-brought-us-to-the/) [Robert D. Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-d-kaplan/) > [“Or take the opportunity offered to the United States following the attacks of September 11, 2001, when both Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Mohammed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-d-kaplan/or-take-the-opportunity-offered-to-the-united-states-following-the/) [Robert D. Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-d-kaplan/) > [When you talk about aiding this country against that country or about fighting terrorism, when you actually take that decision and strip it down,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-d-kaplan/when-you-talk-about-aiding-this-country-against-that-country-or-about/) [Robert D. Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-d-kaplan/) > [“One marker, which I would read a bit later on, tells the familiar story of Narcissa Whitman, "trail-blazer and martyred missionary," who followed the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-d-kaplan/one-marker-which-i-would-read-a-bit-later-on-tells-the-familiar-story/) [Robert D. Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-d-kaplan/) > [Given the level of anti-Americanism in the world, given the level of frustration with the United States throughout the Muslim world, you've got a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-d-kaplan/given-the-level-of-anti-americanism-in-the-world-given-the-level-of/) [Robert D. Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-d-kaplan/) > [The Cold War went on for so long that it bred a kind of worldwide military establishment. Even when budgets went down in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-d-kaplan/the-cold-war-went-on-for-so-long-that-it-bred-a-kind-of-worldwide/) [Robert D. Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-d-kaplan/) > [“So far we have seen the weakening and collapse of small and medium-sized states in Africa and the Middle East. But quasi-anarchy in larger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-d-kaplan/so-far-we-have-seen-the-weakening-and-collapse-of-small-and-medium/) [Robert D. Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-d-kaplan/) > [“Europe is a landscape; East Asia a seascape. Therein lies a crucial difference between the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-d-kaplan/europe-is-a-landscape-east-asia-a-seascape-therein-lies-a-crucial/) [Robert D. Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-d-kaplan/) > [“Macedonia, the inspiration for the French word for "mixed salad" (macedoine), defines the principle illness of the Balkans: conflicting dreams of lost imperial glory.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-d-kaplan/macedonia-the-inspiration-for-the-french-word-for-mixed-salad/) [Robert D. Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-d-kaplan/) > [The more dynamic the capitalistic expansion, the greater the disparity. It is from the disparity that we are going to get all the political…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-d-kaplan/the-more-dynamic-the-capitalistic-expansion-the-greater-the-disparity/) [Robert D. Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-d-kaplan/) > [It is easy to be a moral perfectionist when one is politically unaccountable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-d-kaplan/it-is-easy-to-be-a-moral-perfectionist-when-one-is-politically/) [Robert D. Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-d-kaplan/) > [The masses cannot ultimately be free: only the individual can be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-d-kaplan/the-masses-cannot-ultimately-be-free-only-the-individual-can-be/) [Robert D. Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-d-kaplan/) > [The closer one gets to either the eastern or the southern fringe of the German-speaking world-the closer one gets, in other words, to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-d-kaplan/the-closer-one-gets-to-either-the-eastern-or-the-southern-fringe-of/) [Robert D. Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-d-kaplan/) > [“The South China Sea functions as the throat of the Western Pacific and Indian oceans—the mass of connective economic tissue where global sea routes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-d-kaplan/the-south-china-sea-functions-as-the-throat-of-the-western-pacific/) [Robert D. Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-d-kaplan/) > [“A better age would have to follow.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-d-kaplan/a-better-age-would-have-to-follow/) [Robert D. Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-d-kaplan/) [Explore all 54 Robert D. Kaplan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-d-kaplan/) ## More Afghanistan quotes > [The costs of the Bush-Obama wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now estimated to run as high as $4.4 trillion - a major victory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-costs-of-the-bush-obama-wars-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-are-now/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [From the bitter cold winter at Valley Forge, to the mountains of Afghanistan and the deserts of Iraq, our soldiers have courageously answered when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/solomon-ortiz/from-the-bitter-cold-winter-at-valley-forge-to-the-mountains-of/) [Solomon Ortiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/solomon-ortiz/) > [The rich people are apparently leaving America. They're giving up their citizenship. These great lovers of America who made their money in this country-when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/the-rich-people-are-apparently-leaving-america-they-re-giving-up/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [They're criminals, they brutalized Afghanistan, they killed our people, they destroyed our land.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hamid-karzai/they-re-criminals-they-brutalized-afghanistan-they-killed-our-people/) [Hamid Karzai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hamid-karzai/) > [In 2001, we were told that the war in Afghanistan was a feminist mission. The marines were liberating Afghan women from the Taliban. Can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/in-2001-we-were-told-that-the-war-in-afghanistan-was-a-feminist/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [The terrorist attacks of September 11th and the courageous actions of our armed forces in Afghanistan and Iraq remind us that friends of tyranny…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-levin/the-terrorist-attacks-of-september-11th-and-the-courageous-actions-of/) [Carl Levin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-levin/) > [According to a recent Harvard study, $6 trillion, when you include the ongoing healthcare expenses for our wounded soldiers, which is the least they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/according-to-a-recent-harvard-study-6-trillion-when-you-include-the/) [Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/) > [You don't bargain with terrorists. You don't appease terrorists. And anybody who believes that this is about something we've done has to ask themselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chertoff/you-don-t-bargain-with-terrorists-you-don-t-appease-terrorists-and/) [Michael Chertoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chertoff/) > [“I stood with my mom in the cemetery. She felt terrible pain. My grandmother is with God. My mom has to continue living. It’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tucker-elliot/i-stood-with-my-mom-in-the-cemetery-she-felt-terrible-pain-my/) [Tucker Elliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tucker-elliot/) > [The most successful cultural diplomacy strategy integrates people-to-people or arts/culture/media-to-people interactions into the basic business of diplomacy. The programs in Afghanistan, Egypt, and Iran…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-p-schneider/the-most-successful-cultural-diplomacy-strategy-integrates-people-to/) [Cynthia P. Schneider](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-p-schneider/) > [Because Iran understands Afghanistan far better than Americans do, making Iran a partner in a long-term effort to transform Afghan agriculture makes sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-kinzer/because-iran-understands-afghanistan-far-better-than-americans-do/) [Stephen Kinzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-kinzer/) > [Thousands of Americans have given their lives in Afghanistan and Iraq upholding their oaths and defending this nation. Chelsea Manning broke her oath and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mccain/thousands-of-americans-have-given-their-lives-in-afghanistan-and-iraq/) [John McCain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mccain/) > [I have been to Afghanistan many times, even before the Taliban collapsed. I was fascinated by the country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kabir-khan/i-have-been-to-afghanistan-many-times-even-before-the-taliban/) [Kabir Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kabir-khan/) > [There has been sort of, if you will, a moral interventionism on the part of the United States trying to reshape countries in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-buchanan/there-has-been-sort-of-if-you-will-a-moral-interventionism-on-the/) [Pat Buchanan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-buchanan/) > [The legal system in Afghanistan is very immature and porous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lindsey-graham/the-legal-system-in-afghanistan-is-very-immature-and-porous/) [Lindsey Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lindsey-graham/) [Browse all 1,159 Afghanistan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afghanistan/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The first thing to recognize not just about Afghanistan but about any poor undeveloped country is that as big as it looks on the map, it's much bigger when you're there.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert D. 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