The Legitimization Strategy of the Taliban's Code of Conduct

"The Afghan Taliban are often judged against international norms; what is however less known is that they have produced their own set of norms designed to guide their conduct. In this insightful study, Yoshinobu Nagamine examines the Taliban's internal Code of Conduct, the Layeha. Nagamine analyzes the Layeha in comparison with Islamic Law and international humanitarian law and conducts interviews with Taliban members to understand how they interpret and refer to the Layeha. The results of these interviews give readers an insider's view into the legitimization strategy of the Taliban leadership. This work makes a significant contribution to research on non-state actors, counter-insurgency, and Islamic fundamentalism, and it serves as an indispensable resource for scholars of the Afghan Taliban"-- "What norms and principles guide the Afghan Taliban in their conduct of hostilities? The author focuses on the Layeha, a Code of Conduct issued by the highest Taliban authority. Interviews with Taliban members were conducted to understand their perception of the Layeha - the insight is modeled here as a "one-way mirror""--