Informal Order and the State in Afghanistan

366 Pages·2016·3.152 MB·English

by  Jennifer Brick Murtazashvili

Informal Order and the State in Afghanistan
Despitevasteffortstobuildthestate,profoundpoliticalorderinrural
Afghanistan ismaintainedby self-governing,customaryorganizations.
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. Draw-
ingonhundredsofinterviewsandobservationsfromdozensofvillages
across Afghanistan and statistical analysis of nationally representative
surveys, Jennifer Murtazashvili demonstrates that such authority
enhances citizen support for democracy, enabling the rule of law by
providingcitizensabulwarkofdefenceagainstpredatorystateofficials.
Contrary to conventional wisdom, it shows that “traditional” order
does not impede the development of the state because even the most
independentmindedcommunitiesseeaneedforacentralgovernment—
butquestionitseffectivenesswhenitattemptstorulethemdirectlyand
withoutsubstantiveconsultation.
jennifer brick murtazashvili is an Assistant Professor at the
Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University
ofPittsburgh.SheearnedherPhDinPoliticalSciencefromtheUniver-
sityofWisconsin-Madison.

Informal Order and the State
in Afghanistan
JENNIFER BRICK MURTAZASHVILI
UniversityofPittsburgh
32AvenueoftheAmericas,NewYorkny10013
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©JenniferBrickMurtazashvili2016
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permissionofCambridgeUniversityPress.
Firstpublished2016
AcatalogrecordforthispublicationisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary.
LibraryofCongressCataloginginPublicationData
Names:Murtazashvili,JenniferBrick,author.
Title:InformalorderandthestateinAfghanistan/JenniferBrickMurtazashvili.
Description:NewYork,NY:CambridgeUniversityPress,2016.|Basedonauthor’sthesis
(doctoral-UniversityofWisconsin-Madison,2009)issuedundertitle:TheMicrofoundationsof
StateBuilding:InformalInstitutionsandLocalPublicGoodsinRuralAfghanistan|Includes
bibliographicalreferencesandindex.
Identifiers:lccn2015042017|isbn9781107113992(Hardback)
Subjects:LCSH:Localgovernment–Afghanistan.|Central-localgovernmentrelations–Afghanistan.
|Afghanistan–Politicsandgovernment–2001–|BISAC:POLITICALSCIENCE/General.
Classification:lccjs7442.2.m872016|ddc320.8/409581–dc23LCrecordavailableat
http://lccn.loc.gov/2015042017
isbn978-1-107-11399-2Hardback
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accurateorappropriate.
For my loves: Ilia, Leo, Zoe, and Eve
TAJIKISTAN
UZBEKISTAN
DUSHANBE
TURKMENISTAN
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BALKH TAKHĀR BADAKHSHĀN
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IRAN HERĀT GHŌR DĀYKNUīNlīDĪ GhaPznuSīlh-ea´hArlamLŌGAPGRAaKrTdKIēYHzĀŌNSATNGARHĀR ISLAMABAD
GHAZNĪ Khōst
Sharan
Tārin URUZGĀN
Farāh FARĀH Kot PAKTĪKĀ
ZĀBUL
* Lashkar Qalāt PAKISTAN
Gāh Kandahār
Zaranj HELMAND KANDAHĀR
NĪMRŌZ
Contents
Listof Tables page xi
Glossary xiii
Acronyms xvii
Acknowledgments xix
Preface xxv
1 Introduction 1
Fromareastudiestopoliticaleconomy 8
Centralquestions 11
Statebuildingandself-governance 18
Custom,tribe,andcounterinsurgency 26
Organization 30
the politics of customary governance
2 The Afghan state in historical perspective 35
Indirectrule:AhmadShahDurraniandtheearlymonarchy 37
Directrule:AbdurRahmanKhanandstateconsolidation 41
Directruleredux:Amanullah 45
Thelongpeace:Musahibanrule 48
CommunistruleandtheSovietinvasion 53
Anarchyandcivilwar 56
TheTalibanera 60
Conclusion 64
3 The architecture ofvillagegovernance 65
Theinformalconstitution 68
vii
viii Contents
Backtothefuture:Subnationalgovernanceafter2001 85
Whocontrolsthevillages? 90
Conclusion 105
AppendixtoChapter3 107
customary governance and public goods provision
4 The political economy of village governance 111
Thepoliticaleconomyoflocalpublicgoodsprovision:Atheoryof
localself-governingorganizations 113
Casestudiesofpublicgoodsprovision 120
Aquantitativestudyofpublicgoodsprovision 134
Otherresearch 149
Conclusion 150
5 Cooperation among communities 153
Regionalgovernanceandpublicgoodsprovision 154
Irrigationmanagement 162
Localorderandsecurity 169
Publicinfrastructure 174
Conclusion 181
customary governance and the state
6 Customary organizations and supportfor the state 185
Competingloyalties,competingvalues,andstatebuilding 186
StatebuildinginAfghanistan 189
Customarygovernance,foreignaid,andthestate:Hypotheses 194
Customarygovernanceandstatebuilding 197
Publicgoods,foreignaid,andstatebuilding 204
Conclusion 209
StatisticalappendixtoChapter6 211
7 Federalism, Afghan style 213
Theformalstructureofgovernmentinpost-TalibanAfghanistan 216
ThefederaldilemmainAfghanistan 220
Anoteonmethods 223
DefactofederalisminruralAfghanistan 226
Thesignificanceofdefactofederalism 244
Conclusion 244
8 Conclusion 246
Rethinking“traditionalauthority” 248
Goinglocal:Self-governanceasaninstrumentofstatebuilding 249
Powerinrestraint 252
ImplicationsforstatebuildinginAfghanistan 256