Informal Order and the State in Afghanistan

Despite efforts to build the state, profound political order in rural Afghanistan is maintained by self-governing, customary organizations.

Jennifer Brick Murtazashvili (Author)

9781107534582, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 2 August 2018

363 pages, 2 maps 17 tables
23 x 15.3 x 2.3 cm, 0.57 kg

'This excellent book questions the conventional wisdom that informal village governance is at odds with effective public goods provision. The author's impressive study of Afghanistan, using hundreds of interviews and national surveys show that customary organizations not only fulfill many state functions but they also increase support for the state and democracy. In skillfully combining general theory and contextual depth, Murtazashvili advances our understanding of informal governance, decentralization, and the missed opportunities for state-building in post-Taliban Afghanistan.' Scott Radnitz, University of Washington

Despite vast efforts to build the state, profound political order in rural Afghanistan is maintained by self-governing, customary organizations. Informal Order and the State in Afghanistan explores the rules governing these organizations to explain why they can provide public goods. Instead of withering during decades of conflict, customary authority adapted to become more responsive and deliberative. Drawing on hundreds of interviews and observations from dozens of villages across Afghanistan, and statistical analysis of nationally representative surveys, Jennifer Brick Murtazashvili demonstrates that such authority enhances citizen support for democracy, enabling the rule of law by providing citizens with a bulwark of defence against predatory state officials. Contrary to conventional wisdom, it shows that 'traditional' order does not impede the development of the state because even the most independent-minded communities see a need for a central government - but question its effectiveness when it attempts to rule them directly and without substantive consultation.

1. Introduction
Part I. The Politics of Customary Governance: 2. The Afghan state in historical perspective
3. The architecture of village governance
Part II. Customary Governance and Public Goods Provision: 4. The political economy of village governance
5. Cooperation among communities
Part III. Customary Governance and the State: 6. Customary organizations and support for the state
7. Federalism, Afghan style
8. Conclusion.

Subject Areas: Regional government [JPR], Comparative politics [JPB], Population & demography [JHBD], Social & political philosophy [HPS], Military history: post WW2 conflicts [HBWS], Social & cultural history [HBTB]