Local politics in Afghanistan : a century of intervention in the social order

Afghanistan's people have contended with an almost continuous series of foreign interventions in their local affairs in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Not only have external powers such as British India, the Soviet Union, Pakistan and NATO meddled egregiously in local affairs, but so have Afghan governments, including monarchical, Communist, Islamist and ostensibly democratic ones. While the robust resilience of the Afghan population in the face of external influence is widely recognised, how the local populations have concretely dealt with these interventions and how local politics is structured in Afghanistan still remain somewhat open questions. This volume sheds light on this phenomenon as well as illuminating the complexities of local politics in Afghanistan, analysing also how the local social order is disturbed or reinforced by outside intervention. It also advances our understanding of Afghan society by presenting local politics in a way that frees it from the false binary of romanticisation and demonisation. A central theme is understanding how rational objectives play out in local politics and are guided by social factors such as trust, solidarity, reciprocity and patronage. The book also explores the role jirgas and shuras have played in negotiating between the local and external interventionists. Conrad Schetter was Research Fellow at the Center for Development Research (ZEF) of the University of Bonn. And now (2013) at the BICC (Internationales Konversionszentrum Bonn - Bonn International Center for Conversion). Publisher's note Title Pages Dedication List of Contributors List of Figures List of Acronyms Glossary Map of Afghanistan Foreword Introduction Abstract and Keywords Local Politics and the Fragile States Paradigm From Ignorance to ‘Going Tribal’ Structure of the Book Notes: Centre–Periphery Relations in Afghanistan Abstract and Keywords The Creation of the Afghan State (1880–1900) The Dominance of the Centre (1900–78) The Afghan Wars (1978–96): The Return of the Periphery Conclusions Notes: Jirga, Shura and Community Development Councils Abstract and Keywords Glimpses of the Nineteenth Century The Blossoming and Withering of Democracy, 1963–78 The War and its Impact on Local Institutions After the Taliban: Developments Since 2002 Notes: The Consistency of Patronage Abstract and Keywords The Nature of Local Politics and the Rise of Abdul Karim Khan What Does It Mean to Have a Patron?—The Client’s Perspective Instruments and Strategies of Networking Abdul Karim Khan Arzbegi and the first generation (1920s–40s) Mirza Muhammad Rahim Khan and the second generation (1940s to 1970s) The Third Generation (1960s–90s and the present) The Role of Patronage Networks for Economic Development and ‘State-Building’ Conclusion Notes: Local Politics and the Taliban Abstract and Keywords The Taliban in Power: 1996–2001 The Role of the Clergy Local Governance I Reorganisation of the Taliban Local Governance II Conclusion Notes: Reputation, Violence and Buzkashi Abstract and Keywords Violence as Undercurrent and Question Buzkashi and Three Decades of Conflict Notes: The State, Intermediaries and ‘Licit’ Corruption Abstract and Keywords Zooming in: The Jashn Holidays and the State Representatives The Government Officials Intermediaries Beys Arbabs Wakil Materialised Interfaces Conclusions Notes: Continuities and Changes in Local Politics in Northern Afghanistan Abstract and Keywords Local Politics in Imam Sahib Government Presence The Role of the Arbab Local Mediation Thirty Years On: the Rule of Local Institutions Provincial Councils Legal Practices Conclusions Notes: Trust, Friendship and Transversal Ties of Cooperation Among Afghans Abstract and Keywords Ethnicity as a Political Process Kinship and the Ideal of Friendship A Strategy of Diversification Notes: Perspectives, Aspirations and Constraints Abstract and Keywords The Family and the State The Centre and Periphery in Local Perspective Local Competition and Outsiders’ Interests Local, Regional, Central and Personal Perspectives Notes: Reciprocity and Participation Abstract and Keywords Credit as Gift-Giving Informal Credit in Rural Afghanistan Microcredit Entering Local Communities Exchanging Credit as the Basis for Social Relations Kabul—Access to credit through traditional leadership Bamiyan—Honour and status determine demand for credit Balkh—Informal and formal credit requirements Conclusion Notes: Flows of Suspicion Abstract and Keywords Discourses on Corruption The Aid Project Mutual Suspicions—Interactions between Staff and Beneficiaries Denying Kinship The Social Production of Kinship Notes: Drugs and (Dis)Order Abstract and Keywords Theoretical Framework Afghanistan’s Post-Bonn Political Economy Helmand: Drugs and Disorder Opium production, bans and political settlements The role of state and anti-state actors in the drugs trade Balkh: Drugs and the graduation out of disorder? Opium production, bans and political settlements Comparative Analysis The Drug Economy: Intervention, Violence and the State Conclusions Notes: Perspectives of Local Violence Abstract and Keywords Local Conflicts and Violence Coping with Conflicts The Militarisation of the Local Conclusion Notes: Constructing the Image of a State Abstract and Keywords State-Building or State-Making? Development Interventions and the Local Social Order Development Brokers Constructing Counterparts, Communities and Target Groups Conclusion Notes: Afterword Abstract and Keywords Role of Intermediaries Puzzle of Terminology State and Society: An Intellectual Puzzle What Does Local Mean? Social Order: Towards a New Perspective on Local Politics Notes: Index From the nineteenth century to today, Afghanistan has contended with relentless foreign interventions and domestic political failures. External powers -- such as British India, the Soviet Union, Pakistan, and NATO -- have egregiously interfered in local affairs, and various Afghan governments, whether monarchical, Communist, Islamist, and ostensibly democratic, have meddled disastrously with the social order. The Afghan population nevertheless remains robustly resilient in the face of these upheavals, finding concrete ways to handle external influences while preserving the most valuable aspects of their political system. By shedding light on the dynamics of this phenomenon, the essays in this volume clarify both the complexities of Afghanistan's local political structure and the ways in which outside intervention either disturbs or reinforces the local social order. By freeing local politics from the false binary of romanticization and demonization, this collection provides a richer understanding of Afghan society and the role of social factors -- such as trust, solidarity, reciprocity, and patronage -- in the promotion of rational political objectives. The collection also explores the impact of intermediaries and local forums, such as "jirgas" and "shura," as they negotiate between local actors and external interventionists. -- Provided by publisher.