Afghanistan

With the re-building of the failed Afghan state now at the center of the new international intervention, this book explores how the perceptions of outsiders have been at odds with Afghans' own understandings of their country. It shows how the lack of understanding that characterized past policies remains highly problematical. By continuing to indulge in a superficial, selective portrayal of the country, the international community risks manufacturing a state that does not exist, and policies that will not work.