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Abstract
The post-September 11 narrative of the drug economy attempts to isolate this ‘problem’ to the space of Afghanistan locally by stressing the tropes of tribalism and warlordism. In this narrative, these two phenomena are framed as obstacles in building a strong state and its institutions and ensuring development in Afghanistan. In contrast, I propose to understand tribalism and warlordism as political and historical categories, both in the sense of their discursive use as well as their function in Afghan social and political life, as Afghans organized themselves, but were also organized by others – though not in isolation, but in continuous engagement with these others. I place this analysis within the broader discussion of understanding how the Cold War interventions affected the organizing of political power in Afghanistan.
Acknowledgements
Earlier versions of this article were presented at the panel ‘Canada and Afghanistan: Entanglements and Ruptures’ at the CASCA Conference 2008; the 9th Annual Graduate Students Conference, University of Guelph, 2008; at the 15th Annual York Centre for International and Security Studies Conference, York University, 2008, and at the Colloquium Series of the Anthropology Department, York University, 2008. The author thanks all those who raised valuable questions and comments at these venues. This research was funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (Canada Graduate Scholarship), Anthropology Department, York University, and the Faculty of Graduate Studies, York University. The author is grateful most especially to Malcolm Blincow for his comments on earlier versions of this article. The author is also thankful to three anonymous reviewers for providing productive comments on earlier drafts.