THE POST 9/11 DEMOCRATIZATION IN AFGHANISTAN: CHALLENGES AND EXPECTATIONS

Abstract

Since the 1979 Soviet invasion, Afghanistan has been in a continuous state of war. Following the US led invasion of the country in late 2001 and the fall of the Taliban regime, a new process of democratization started based on the Bonn Agreement - a draft under the umbrella of United Nations which gave a road map to Afghans and the international community for a transition to a successful democracy and stability in Afghanistan. According to the Agreement, Hamid Karzai was sworn in, in Kabul as head of a 30-member interim power-sharing government on December 22, 2001 and a new era of democratization started in Afghanistan. In the Constitutional Loya Jirga or Grand Council at the end of 2003, the new Afghan constitution was ratified and the establishment of rule of law formed the basis for the development of Afghan democracy. Based on the new constitution, the first ever presidential elections in the history of Afghanistan were held on October 9, 2004 where Hamid Karzai was elected for a term of five years. The very next year, parliamentary elections were held for Wolesi Jirga (House of the People) or the Lower House and Provincial Councils. Another important achievement in the country is the standardization of the human rights, especially women rights through establishing an independent commission of human rights. Now there are dozens of female MPs and women candidates stood in the race to be the president of the country. Although efforts are underway for democracy to work in Afghanistan, there are a number of challenges and obstacles. People’s expectations have not been met and the country still faces insecurity, intimidation, corruption, violation of rights, and warlordism. The paper outlines democratic achievement in the country in post-Taliban Afghanistan and discusses challenges and factors that threaten the nascent democracy.

Keywords

• Afghanistan, Democracy, Democratization, Security

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