Fragments of the Afghan Frontier
Published on 20. March 2012
Book
Hardback
256 pages
978-0-231-70246-1 (ISBN)
Description
The border between Afghanistan and Pakistan's northwest territories has a long and violent past. Through a collage of historical narrative and ethnographic research, Benjamin D. Hopkins and Magnus Marsden counter the stereotypes and simplistic assessments that obscure a more accurate picture of this frontier, at the same time exposing the web of difficulties now facing local and international actors. This border region is anything but an isolated depot rife with radical terrorists and tribesmen. The frontier is rich with meaning, influenced by centuries of development by its inhabitants and their conceptions of those who operate outside their world. Fragments of the Afghan Frontier provides a deeper understanding of this evolving region, which grows more and more significant as the West steps up its counterterrorist campaigns.
Reviews / Votes
If you think you know the Pakistan/Afghan frontier, think again. This innovative collaboration between an historian and an anthropologist has produced a remarkable and readable book that sheds new light on the dynamics of the region. It will be a standard text for a very long time to come. -- Charles Lindholm, Boston University, author of Generosity and Jealousy: The Swat Pukhtun of Northern Pakistan Fragments of the Afghan Frontier is unique in many respects, particularly in the way it combines the disciplines and methodologies of history and anthropology (archival and ethnographic) in fascinating and unexpected ways. While several recent books have taken the Afghan-Pakistan border as their subject, this one captures a broader historical range (1870 to the present) and a more diverse population than any other recent study. The book is theoretically sophisticated in its understanding of the dynamics of border regions and shines a light on significant events whose historical importance and resonance for present circumstances have been inadequately appreciated, if not altogether ignored. -- David B. Edwards, Williams College The essays in this excellent volume will provide a jolt to those making easy generalizations -- too often used to guide policy -- that misjudge the sophistication and complexity of the societies of the Afghanistan-Pakistan frontier. The authors pair serious archival research with extensive ethnographic experience, making a remarkable contribution to a subject of unquestioned importance. -- Barbara D. Metcalf, author of Islamic Revival in British India: Deoband 1860--1900 If you think you know the Pakistan/Afghan frontier, think again. This innovative collaboration between an historian and an anthropologist has produced a remarkable and readable book that sheds new light on the dynamics of the region. It will be a standard text for a very long time to come. -- Charles Lindholm, University Professor of Anthropology, University of Boston, and author of Generosity and Jealousy: The Swat Pukhtun of Northern Pakistan. A useful corrective to anyone who thinks their views are based on reason rather than simple prejudice. -- Myra MacDonald Reuters 3/20/12More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 203 mm
Width: 127 mm
Weight
454 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-231-70246-1 (9780231702461)
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Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Benjamin D. Hopkins is an assistant professor of history and international affairs at George Washington University. He is the author of The Making of Modern Afghanistan. Magnus Marsden is a senior lecturer in social anthropology at the School of Oriental and African Studies, London. He has spent fifteen years conducting research in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and is the author of Living Islam: Muslim Religious Experience in Pakistan's North-West Frontier.