Mapping Village Variability in Afghanistan: the use of cluster analysis to construct village typologies

On 9th November, 2015, AREU hosted a round table discussion with stakeholders on the topic of Mapping Village Variability in Afghanistan: the use of cluster analysis to construct village typologies. In this round table discussion, Adam Pain discussed the evidence that has been gathered from SLRC for variability in village behaviour and why this is important for development programmers. Village variability is underpinned by the behaviour of elites and whether they have reason to open public good provision to the community. There is ample evidence to suggest that elites are an inherent piece of village governance and programmers should take a more nuanced view of working them. The discussion was attended by a number of experts and practitioners from government and NGOs based in Kabul.