Chapter 3 continues…

This in reality meant that local influentials and power brokers would not challenge the state, and the state, in turn, would refrain from trying to interfere with them. Whatever may be the regime in power, a high degree of autonomy had been allowed to local areas to pursue economic activities and to follow tribal and localized laws and customs. To administer the government’s few extractive and allocative functions, the country was divided administratively into provinces, each headed by a centrally appointed governor.

The provinces were further subdivided into districts and subdistricts headed by appointed officials. Governments have worked through largely informal consultative bodies at the local level, such as community councils (shuras) and tribal assemblies (jirgas), many of which have continued to function regardless of changes in national politics. In the absence of an effective central government, Afghan communities have their own social norms, but none so elaborate as Pashtun tribal law, known as Pashtunwali. With the advent of the Taleban, Islamic courts and an Islamic administration of justice through interpretation of the law by clergy (ulema) assumed greater prominence.

These changes have widely replaced the authority once exercised by traditional local leaders, or Khans. Many Afghans continue to believe that “the highest manifestation of the will of the people of Afghanistan” is vested in the institution of the Loya Jirga. As a specially convened national assembly, it has traditionally held the power to amend and interpret the constitution, declare war, and adopt decisions on critical national issues.

Afghanistan has relied far more on foreign subsidies and export taxes than on internal taxes to finance its limited scope of activities. As in other rentier states, the authorities were better able to distribute resources than to collect them. It was unnecessary for national government institutions to be very effective, since there was little policy to implement. If called upon to enforce a more active government, the existing institutions were bound to invite challenges and be prone to collapse.

To be continued…