Power, Inequality, and Local Land Conflict in Afghanistan
This paper looks into how power hierarchies and structural inequality are often entangled within conflicts over land in Kabul’s peri-urban areas. Structural inequalities in Afghanistan create a variety of challenges related to land tenure. While the causes of land conflict in Afghanistan have been studied in the literature, how power hierarchies play a role in such conflicts has not been adequately explored. Only by understanding these power hierarchies does it become possible to understand the systemic nature of inequality in land-related conflicts.
By highlighting these hierarchies, it becomes possible to show that attempts at providing formal titles to residents of peri-urban areas do not necessarily alter the underlying power hierarchies. As a result, formal titling may not have its intended effect of significantly reducing land conflict in these areas.
