Justice and State-Building in Afghanistan: State vs. Society vs. Taliban: Reflections on a Survey of the Afghan People

In Afghanistan, the process of creating a state judiciary has developed slowly, first through the gradual assertion of state control over sharia courts starting from the reign of Abdur Rahman (1880-1900) and then with the development of a state-trained judiciary during the 20th century. On the eve of the 33-years-long series of conflict started in 1978, the state still did not claim monopoly over the judiciary, let alone effectively own it.2 The series of wars then inevitably reduced the reach of the state judiciary, particularly in the countryside. Much of what had been done in terms of centralizing the judiciary under state control for a century was lost during the following quarter of a century.