Bazaar politics : power and pottery in an Afghan market town / Noah Coburn.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Coburn, Noah.

Series:

Stanford studies in Middle Eastern and Islamic societies and cultures.

Stanford studies in Middle Eastern and Islamic societies and cultures

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Potters--Afghanistan--Istālif.

Potters.

Political culture--Afghanistan--Istālif.

Political culture.

Ethnology--Afghanistan--Istālif.

Ethnology.

Istālif (Afghanistan)--Politics and government.

Istālif (Afghanistan).

Istālif (Afghanistan)--Social conditions.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (273 p.)

Place of Publication:

Stanford, Calif. : Stanford University Press, 2011.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

After 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. Bazaar Politics 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. At 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 international community and NGO workers. Offering the first long-term on-the-ground study since the arrival of allied forces in 2001, Noah Coburn introduces readers to daily life in Afghanistan through portraits of local residents and stories of his own experiences. He reveals the ways in which the international community has misunderstood the forces driving local conflict and the insurgency, misunderstandings that have ultimately contributed to the political unrest rather than resolved it. Though on first blush the potters of Istalif may seem far removed from international affairs, it is only through understanding politics, power, and culture on the local level that we can then shed new light on Afghanistan's difficult search for peace.

Contents:

Groups and violence : ethnography and suspicion

Social organization in Istalif : making pots

How making pots bound people together : the art of finding a bargain

And selling pots tore people apart : telling stories

Leadership, descent, and marriage : dinner

Cultural definitions of power in Istalif : election day

Masterly inactivity : the politics of stagnation : the director of intelligence

The Afghan state as a useful fiction : Paktya : eighteen months later

Thinking about violence, social organization, and international intervention.

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780804778909

0804778906

OCLC:

756484115