Modernization is defined as the positive connotation used to change society by bringing technologies, production and better living standards to the development process. Modernization theory first emerged in Europe in the seventeenth century and is more or less influential. Most countries have modernized themselves by using an appropriate and suitable form of modernization theories in their country. An example of countries that have applied modernization theory well and managed to achieve modernization is Turkey, however Afghanistan is the country that failed to come up with modernization during the reign of King Amanullah Khan. This article aims to provide a comparative analysis of state building and modernization in Afghanistan during the regime of King Amanullah Khan and in Türkiye under Mustafa Kamal Ataturk. It will focus on the cause and effect relationship between different characteristics of both countries, such as social structure, geopolitical and socioeconomic position as the cause and political development as the effect which led to the failure of modernization in Afghanistan and prosperity and success in Afghanistan. Türkiye. Historical Context of Afghanistan: Afghanistan is a multi-ethnic society with an ancient history that began in 3000 BC. It is a landlocked country that has been regarded as a gateway or gateway for most invaders throughout history. Afghanistan as a country was born in 1747 by Ahmad Shah Durani who led the founding of the first Durani Empire. Ahmad Shah was able to bring together different people from different ethnic groups to work as one nation. Afghanistan as a modern state was born in the 19th century while this was the period when other countries in Asia, Africa and the Middle East with...... middle of paper ...... started the process of modernization had to face opposition from a large number of uneducated people. Since he could not build schools or educational institutions due to lack of luxury, people lacked the ability to understand and analyze his processes and turned against him. Harrison mentioned four phases of Barrington Moore's modernization theory in the book “Sociology of Modernization and Development”. According to Barrington, the first theory is the "organic evolutionary mode", the second is "conservative modernization". The third theory is “evolutionary modernization,” while the last theory is “industrialization through formal and informal colonization.” If we apply the theories mentioned in Amanullah's reforms, the second one can be perfectly applicable, since Amanullah Khan used top-down driven state modernization, which can probably cause society to rebel against it.