War, Peace and the Warlords: The Case of Ismail Khan of Herat in Afghanistan

Distribution of power in a political entity is a compromise. It reflects the strengths and weaknesses in the line of command vertically and the reach of power horizontally. It could be embodied in a written constitution, a set of conventions, informal understandings or facts on the ground. A weak center results in the rise of competitive centers of power in the periphery. Eventually, the center may prevail, an uneasy equilibrium may continue, or the entity may split into two or more units.