The conflict in Afghanistan, now two decades old, has generated considerabl
e attention from journalists, policy analysts, and political scientists, bu
t the literature on the conflict includes few references to the work of Fre
drik Earth on political leadership among the Swat Pakhtuns of neighboring P
akistan. Here I explore the relevance of Earth's work to an analysis of the
war in Afghanistan. In particular, I examine Barth's "methodological indiv
idualism" and compare his approach with alternative approaches advanced by
three of his principal critics: Talal Asad, Akbar S. Ahmed, and Michael Mee
ker.