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

Jennifer Brick Murtazashvili is an Assistant Professor of Public Policy at the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Pittsburgh. She earned her Ph.D. in Political Science and M.A. in Agricultural and Applied Economics from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Her research focuses on state building, public administration, social institutions, and governance in fragile states.

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.