Peacebuilding and pasture relations in Afghanistan

Abstract

This article examines the virtue of attempts to local peacebuilding around issues of pasturelands in Afghanistan. It looks at the value of local empirical research that aims to assess local pasture access regimes to inform peacebuilding approaches that build on local custom. Conceptually, it looks at state-society relations in Afghanistan and proposes the idea of expanding the state to literally encompass its localities, by turning local village councils into public service entities with ongoing responsibilities in pasture management and administration. The argument is anchored both in the technicalities of a peacebuilding approach exercised through the development practice in the context of liberal peace, and in a discussion of the nexus between the state and community that heeds local politics and power relations. The process is illustrated through empirical case studies of local peacebuilding in two villages. It is argued that turning marginal spaces into the state itself in an incremental learning-by-doing approach provides a feasible way forwards to start building peace in Afghanistan.