ABSTRACT
In the introductory chapter I have offered some brief opening remarks about the book and introduced the contents of the subsequent chapters. I have referred to the fundamental and still unresolved issue which stands at the basis of the general theory of law, namely the conception of law in the struggle between its sociological and autocratic origin. Indeed, in statebuilding interventions, when the reconstruction process also deals with the justice system’s restoration, this dualistic conception resurfaces and requires statebuilders to refer to it when establishing a model of conduct for legal and judicial reforms. In this respect, the first phase of justice system reform in Afghanistan clearly shows that a mere top-down, externally-directed transfer of legal knowledge is doomed to fail.
