Natural bedfellows
Corruption, criminality and the failure of international reconstruction. A case study of the Kabul Bank
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 7732357 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Marika Theros (0000-0003-4186-7690, Department for International Development, London School of Economics, London, UK, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2024 |
| Volume | 24 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 369-395 |
| Publication date | 2024-07-03 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Conflict Security and Development (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1467-8802 • E-ISSN: 1478-1174 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/14678802.2024.2380268 |
| OpenAlex | W4401500366 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 4 |
| References cited | 37 |
Corruption remains a persistent feature in most transitional and fragile countries, raising questions around the processes and outcomes of international development and economic reforms. In the case of Afghanistan, conventional wisdom tends to blame domestic factors, including corruption, in the collapse of the internationally-backed Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, while largely neglecting the co-constitutive nexus between economic reconstruction, criminality, and political authority. Combining the political marketplace framework with a network analysis, this paper traces how a corrupt network formed around the Kabul Bank, grew and metastasised by leveraging neo-liberal and technocratic economic reform policies, and thus, gravely undermined the country’s governance and stability. By doing so, it argues that international reconstruction practices and resources reconfigured power in Afghanistan, and helped create a governance system governed by the logic of a criminalised political marketplace. The paper also demonstrates the utility of a political marketplace lens in explaining evolving political dynamics, with a network analysis to generate deeper insights into the complex interactions between the local and global dynamics that produce criminality, corruption, and state capture
Criminology · Language change · Political science · Crime, Illicit Activities, and Governance · History · Peacebuilding and International Security · Philosophy · Politics and Conflicts in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Middle East · Psychology
Political Order in Changing Societies
Violence and Social Orders
At War's End
Syndromes of Corruption
Warlords, Strongman Governors, and the State in Afghanistan
Corruption, anti-corruption, and economic development
Reconstructing and Reforming the Financial System in Conflict and ‘Post-Conflict’ Economies
Corruption, Grabbing and Development
World Development Report 2017
The Quest for Good Governance
Corruption, institutions, and economic development
State capture and development
War and Peace Economies of Afghanistan's Strongmen
Understanding Criminality in West African Conflicts
Hybrid Political Orders, Not Fragile States
The Dynamics of Elite Networks and Patron–Client Relations in Afghanistan
Statebuilding in Afghanistan
Rethinking liberal peacebuilding, statebuilding and transition in Afghanistan
The inverted cycle
The uncritical critique of ‘liberal peace’
Economic growth with endogenous corruption
Democratic Experiments in Africa
Political and Economic Life in Afghanistan
Institutional Design, Neopatrimonialism, and the Politics of Aid in Afghanistan
Corrupting or Consolidating the Peace? The Drugs Economy and Post-conflict Peacebuilding in Afghanistan
Europeanisation and conflict networks
Global Governance and the New Wars
Analysis
The problem of peace
Abuse of power and conflict persistence in Afghanistan
| Citations per year | 4 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |