Research Fellow @CICAM_RU @Radboud_Uni, PhD Political Economy @SOAS, SenResearcher @WAI_News, Visiting Scholar @AREUafghanistan, Chief of Staff @AFGCentralBank
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Joined August 2011
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3. uniformly tradable across all actors. While the loyalty of local elites depends on aid-based patronage, the rebels' access to alternative buyers of loyalty, their orientation as total spoilers, & shifts in the position of international patrons render their loyalty nontradable.
2. in Afghanistan during the Karzai and Ghani administrations, & during the Taliban insurgency. I argue that abundant aid flows enable rulers to purchase the loyalty of local elites, thereby sustaining stability, whereas declining aid fuels conflict. Loyalty, however, is not...
1. Publication Alert 🚨I'm thrilled to share my new article, 'Trading Political Loyalty: The Political Economy of Aid in Afghanistan', which has been published in the Journal of International Development. The article explores the political economy of aid
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/…
3. be followed by a discussion of the implications for policy and future research. Please join us if you are interested.
2. for Tax and Development @ICTDTax in collaboration with Danish Institute for International Studies and the Centre on @Armed_Groups, features an excellent lineup of scholars examining how checkpoints shape governance and everyday life in conflict settings. The presentations will
1. 🚨 Webinar Alert 🚨 I will be discussing my new article, Checkpoint Taxation and the Neo-Patrimonial Political Order in Afghanistan, which is part of a special issue published in Development and Change. The webinar, hosted by the International Centre
ictd.ac/event/webinar-politi…
Sarajuddin Isar retweeted
Afghanistan at Crossroads: Navigating a Multifaceted Crisis in a Changing World
On 19th May 2026, FARAGEER convened a one- day dialogue at #LSE @EdwardsMil38246, which brought together 46 UK-based #Afghan experts, civil society leaders, women human rights defenders, academics, former government officials along side FARAGEER #delegation to discuss the most urgent challenges Afghanistan is facing.
The aim of this event was to provide safe space to #Afghans to collectively #reflect on the evolving situation within Afghanistan, in the region and globally among #themselves.
The event was opened by Ms. #NargisNehan and #JoannaLewis. In three #panel discussions and #presentations, speakers #examined the situation and shared their perspectives.
The first panel focused on the #HumanitarianCrisis, Situation of #Economy, #Climate Change, Social Sector and security situation in the past four years, moderated by @seema_ghani with Dr. #OrzalaNemat, Dr. #SarajuddinIsar, Mr. @MozamilShinwari, Ms. #KamilaSiddiqi, Ms. #AdelaMohseni and #ParwaizIbrahimkahil as presenters/speakers.
The second panel was on different International Accountability Mechanisms for Afghanistan (ICC and ICJ), new Independent Investigative Mechanism on Afghanistan and the Gender Apartheid Campaign, moderated by #AsilaWardak, with Mr. #NatiqMalikzada and Ambassador #NasirAndisha as presenters/speakers.
The third panel discussed changing global order and challenges and opportunities for Advocacy on Afghanistan, having Mr. #IdreesRahmani, Mr. #HamidHakimi, Ms. #NigaraMirdad, Mr. #ArefSahar and Mr. #WaidBarmak as speakers.
The day concluded with the presentation of a summary of the discussions and points for the way forward by Mr. #ZulamaiNishat.
@AndishaNasir
@natiqmalikzada
@NehanNargis
@Orzala
@Isar2000
@JoannaILewis
@seema_ghani
@ZalNishat
@AsilaA
@MozammilKBL
@NigaraOmar
@AdelaMohseni
Sarajuddin Isar retweeted
This special issue grows out of the "Roadblocks and Revenues" working paper series, made possible by the @CarlsbergFonden grant supporting the TRADECRAFT project @diisdk, and by @ICTDTax and the @Armed_Groups. Thank you. 🙏
Sarajuddin Isar retweeted
Afghanistan: @Isar2000 shows how checkpoint taxation sustained a neo-patrimonial political order, and its unraveling. The Taliban's leaner, more predictable checkpoint regime won over trade elites where the government's extractive chaos drove them away. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/…
Sarajuddin Isar retweeted
And #2 is out: a wonderful longue durée study of checkpoints and state formation in Afghanistan by @Isar2000. Read it here, open access: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/…
"Not so freeway": Checkpoints and Conflict in Northeast India by my amazing postdoc Shalaka Thakur.
#1/n for @DevandChg taking stock of the politics of roadblocks, edited by @florian_weigand, @VVandenboogaard, @MaxGallien. It's open access!
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/…
control in shaping Afghanistan’s political dynamics. I'd like to thank the editors and reviewers for their comments & the Folke Bernadotte Academy (FBA) for funding the field visit to the USA as part of a project on Taliban taxation.
that access to these sites sustained political order, while their disruption intensified conflict and instability. The Taliban’s return to power, in part, reflects the failure of both the government and international actors to recognise the enduring importance of trade route
& its eventual disintegration. Focusing on the Karzai and Ghani administrations alongside the Taliban insurgency, it shows how control of checkpoints as key rent-generating sites enabled patrons to maintain influence over elites and strongmen. Drawing on first-hand data, I argue
🚨 Publication alert 🚨
Thrilled to share that my article, 'Checkpoint Taxation & Neo-Patrimonial Order in Afghanistan,' has been published in the Journal of Development and Change. The article examines how checkpoint taxation shaped Afghanistan’s neo-patrimonial political order
2. I'm very much looking forward to the invaluable insights & commentary from distinguished scholars Zachariah Mampilly, Thomas Barfield, Noah Coburn, Dinissa Duvanova, Kevin Narizny, and Norrin Ripsman. Hope to c many of u there for an engaging & thought-provoking discussion.
1. If u r in town, pls join us for the Fall 2025 Textor Book Manuscript Workshop Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. We'll be discussing my forthcoming book, Fiscal Failure in Afghanistan: The Political Economy of Taxation and State-Building.
lnkd.in/eR6BSxE9
A timely and pressing topic, looking forward to reading it with great interest. Congratulations, @sbrazys_ucd!
It's a thing that exists! If you want a free copy of The Invisible Hand(out) retweet this & I'll pick one name on the release date (8/12) & send it to you wherever you are! Or if you can't wait that long, the e-version is available at academic.oup.com/book/60642?…
