Nematullah Bizhan
Nematullah Bizhan is a Research Fellow at Oxford University where he studies the role of identities and networks in establishing state legitimacy and effectiveness in fragile and conflict-affected societies. He is also working with the Commission on State Fragility, Growth and Development. Nematullah is also a Senior Research Associate with Oxford University’s Global Economic Governance Program, a Visiting Fellow at Australian National University’s Crawford School of Public Policy and the Asia-Pacific College of Diplomacy. He is a member of the steering committees of both the South Asia in World Politics Section of the International Studies Association (ISA) and the Oxford Network of Peace Studies (OxPeace).
Content by Nematullah Bizhan
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Publication - Evidence Paper
Identity, norms, narratives, and state bureaucracy: Evidence from tax administration in Afghanistan
The effectiveness and legitimacy of a public organisation may depend to a large degree not only on institutional arrangement but also on the behaviour of actors within institutions and the interactions between the two. This paper argues that beliefs, in the form of identity, norms, and narratives, significantly affect bureaucratic effectiveness. They can have various...
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Blog post
Identity, norms and narratives and state bureaucracy
The process of building state effectiveness and legitimacy is lengthy and far more complex in transitional societies and contexts of fragility. A lack of legitimacy makes it more difficult to build key public organisations (e.g. taxation authorities, police, and judiciary). Public services are crucial for societies to reduce poverty, build resilience to shocks, and prevent...
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Publication - Country study
Building legitimacy and state capacity in protracted fragility: The case of Afghanistan
This country study is published by the LSE-Oxford Commission on State Fragility, Growth and Development.