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. -- From publisher's description.

Groups and violence -- Social organization in Istalif -- How making pots bound people together -- How selling pots tore people apart -- Leadership, descent, and marriage -- Cultural definitions of power in Istalif -- Masterly inactivity : the politics of stagnation -- The Afghan state as a useful fiction -- Thinking about violence, social organization, and international intervention.