Oscillations in opium poppy production in Afghanistan have long been associated with how the state was perceived, such as after the Taliban imposed a cultivation ban in 2000-1.The international community's subsequent attempts to regulate opium poppy became intimately linked with its own state-building project, and rising levels of cultivation were cited as evidence of failure by those international donors who spearheaded development in poppy-growing provinces like Helmand, Nangarhar and Kandahar.Mansfield's book examines why drug control - particularly opium bans - have been imposed in Afghanistan; he documents the actors involved; and he scrutinises how prohibition served divergent and competing interests. Drawing on almost two decades of fieldwork in rural areas, he explains how these bans affected farming communities, and how prohibition endured in some areas while in others opium production bans undermined livelihoods and destabilised the political order, fuelling violence and rural rebellion.Above all this book challenges how we have come to understand political power in rural Afghanistan. Far from being the passive recipients of violence by state and non-state actors, Mansfield highlights the role that rural communities have played in shaping the political terrain, including establishing the conditions under which they could persist with opium production.

***BUSINESS BOOK AWARDS 2021 SHORTLISTED TITLE*** Does all the good stuff only happen at weekends? Have Sunday evenings become depressing, as the working days ahead come into view? Has your week been reduced to pointless meetings, over-complicated tasks and disillusioned colleagues? You're convinced there's a better way of getting things done. But where to start? Well, this book has the answers. David Mansfield shows you how to reclaim your work week. In a lifetime of work, David has encountered, tolerated, conquered and failed at most of the things you've come to accept as the natural order. The business world is a messy place. Processes and systems that were meant to help result in information overload, and just staying on top of the day-to-day feels like some sort of result. But there are solutions, and The Monday Revolution has them. Every chapter contains stories, anecdotes and uncomplicated real-world advice on how you can Revolutionise your working life. Simple, immediate, actionable examples show how directors, managers and business owners can get more done, more quickly. David covers all the basics needed to fast track profitable growth. If you want to look back on your working week with satisfaction and eagerly anticipate the next, read this book. And start your own Monday Revolution, this week.