A Peacebuilding from the Bottom : Daily Life and Local Governance in Rural Afghanistan

Abstract

The images of Afghanistan are quite often occupied with the long history of conflicts since late 1970s. Even some knew the assassination of Ahmad Shah Massoud on the eve of 911 attacks on the US soil in 2001. The year of 2001 was a historic turning point for the country to re-start state building from the ashes of two decades of war. In other words, 2001 can be seen as a new beginning of peacebuilding in Afghanistan. This article will examine a possible peacebuilding in Afghanistan from the perspective of rural life after 2001. It is often argued that peacebuilding means to establish state institutions and rule of laws and to introduce a democratic system.This paper, however, aims to highlight the rural daily life and local governance system in order to lead a stable and effective peacebuilding in Afghanistan. For that purpose, based on the interviews conducted between 2003 and 20131 it is,therefore, emphasised that the importance of peacebuilding in rural area, not the top-down peacebuilding, is critical to materialise peace in the country. This article will investigate the life in rural Afghanistan and based on that, highlights the descent and humble needs of villagers, farmers and ex-combatants for life that directly indicate a way to establish peace from rural area. It would also imply the gap between the reconstructions of state system and the needs of the people in rural area. This article, therefore, (1) touches upon brief background of the targeted rural districts, and (2) examines the needs of the people in the rural area and finally (3) highlights the community structure and local governance in rural Afghanistan.