Noah Coburn is a political anthropologist at Skidmore College. He is the author of Bazaar Politics: Power and Pottery in an Afghan Market Town, which is based on over 18 months of on the ground research explores how a small community of potters resolved their disputes in the Shomali Plain, north of Kabul. More recently he has conducted research on peace building, local governance and rule of law issues for the United States Institute of Peace, the Afghan Research and Evaluation Unit and several other organizations.