Monograph · Columbia University Press, 2022
Waiting for Dignity
Legitimacy and Authority in Afghanistan
Drawing on hundreds of interviews, the book examines how people in Afghanistan judge competing authorities, and argues that everyday experiences of fairness, inclusion and respect are fundamental to legitimacy.
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Selected praise
“Weigand’s terrific book on how authority has been built and lost in Afghanistan is also an invitation to return to deeper levels of analysis.”
Saskia SassenColumbia University
“Rather than testing a received hypothesis he has generated a fresh new understanding of political legitimacy – that fundamental but elusive concept.”
Alex de WaalAuthor of The Real Politics of the Horn of Africa
“Based on extensive field work, Weigand looks at Afghanistan from the bottom up.”
Jennifer Brick MurtazashviliAuthor of Informal Order and the State in Afghanistan
“This is a highly valuable contribution, whether your main interest is in legitimacy in contexts of conflict generally, or in legitimacy and authority in Afghanistan specifically.”
Kristian Berg HarpvikenJournal of Peace Research