The man who would be king: The challenges to Strengthening Governance in Uruzgan

After 10 years of international intervention, Afghanistan is still struggling to rebuild the state and its institutions. This state of affairs translates in the limited reach of the central government to the periphery and in the people's lack of trust in its institutions which in turn results in the inability of the afghan state to prevent predatory behaviour by key actors and systems based on the logic of patronage networks. "The man who would be king" explores this phenomenon at work in the Uruzgan province and analyses the key actors at play in the province, their sources of power and the mechanisms that allow to reach leadership positions. What emerges is a highly monetised political marketplace in which the acquisition and control of resources seem to be crucial. The paper calls for more creative approaches to eradicate these practices than the current programmes based on western assumptions of merit-based appointments and performance rewards.