Village Context and the National Solidarity Program in Afghanistan

This paper explores the relation between the design of Afghanistan's National Solidarity Program and implementation outcomes. It draws on a study of village contexts to understand the variability in the relations of responsibility and accountability that exist between customary village leadership, village elites, and village households. Findings on diverse processes of "bricolage" between the NSP intervention and customary practices highlight the politics of village life, which the technical assumptions of the NSP do not address.