Armed groups · Legitimacy · Conflict economies
How armed groups, smugglers and communities govern, tax and trade alongside the state, and what this means for engagement, development and peace.
Explore the research →
↗How armed groups govern, how civilians navigate their rule, and how engagement with them works.
↗How armed groups and states tax, trade and control movement, from checkpoints to smuggling routes.
↗How authority is recognised, tolerated and contested in everyday life.
↗How dialogue, mediation and engagement open pathways out of conflict.
↗Reflections on work and field research in conflict settings.
Books
Monograph · Columbia University Press
Legitimacy and Authority in Afghanistan
“A terrific book.”Saskia Sassen
Selected by the LSE Review of Books among ten great social science books for South Asian Heritage Month.
Explore the book →Recent articles
How uncertainty and institutional ambiguity shape rule in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.
A guide to the changing scholarship on illicit trade, borders and globalization.
A framework for understanding checkpoints as institutions of authority, taxation and political claim-making.
