{"product_id":"bazaar-politics-9780804776714","title":"Bazaar Politics","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eAfter the fall of the Taliban, instability reigned across Afghanistan. However, in the small town of Istalif, located a little over an hour north of Kabul and not far from Bagram on the Shomali Plain, local politics remained relatively violence-free. \u003ci\u003eBazaar Politics\u003c\/i\u003e examines this seemingly paradoxical situation, exploring how the town''s local politics maintained peace despite a long, violent history in a country dealing with a growing insurgency.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAt the heart of this story are the Istalifi potters, skilled craftsmen trained over generations. With workshops organized around extended families and competition between workshops strong, kinship relations become political and subtle negotiations over power and authority underscore most interactions. Starting from this microcosm, Noah Coburn then investigates power and relationships at various levels, from the potters'' families; to the local officials, religious figures, and former warlords; and ultimately to the internation\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"[Coburn's] single-case, ethnographic approach has a distinct advantage: It allows him to paint a fascinating and finely detailed portrait of a local political system that defies many Western categories and concepts of governance . . . an invaluable perspective on the international operation.\"—Roland Paris, \u003ci\u003ePerspectives on Politics\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"This book is based on an ethnographic study of Istalif, a small town north of Kabul. . . Coburn's strongest opinions emerge when he writes about local NGO's, and about the presence of international military and development groups in the town. . . [His facts] raise many questions about class relations in Istalif and in the region, and other important questions about the effects of current styles of imperial war on everyday lives.\"—Nancy Lindisfarne, \u003ci\u003eJournal of the Royal Anthropological Institute\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Soldiers and civilians deploying to Afghanistan and those writing policy papers can all profit from Coburn's work. The focus on a single village opens understanding of crucial factors about Afghanistan that need comprehension; the complexities of political power, why decisions are often difficult to achieve, the superficiality of NGO and foreign interventions, and the fictions that sustain political interactions are as enlightening as they are humbling to our theorizing. This book is worth reading.\"—Ronald Neumann, US Ambassador to Afghanistan 2005-2007, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Other War: Winning and Losing in Afghanistan\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Coburn explores and explains a strange paradox in Afghan politics: that local communities appear to have the means to maintain stability even when the national government does not. This is the first ethnographic study published on post-2001 Afghanistan, and is highly recommended not only for those interested in Afghanistan, but those seeking a new perspective on comparative politics more generally.\"—Thomas Barfield, Boston University\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Stanford University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49405596762455,"sku":"9780804776714","price":81.9,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780804776714.jpg?v=1730492954","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/bazaar-politics-9780804776714","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}