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

Year 2012, Volume: 4 Issue: 1, 19 - 32, 01.06.2012

Ahmad Shah

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

References

• Atayee, Muhammad Ibrahim (2004), “An Overview of the Contemporary History of Afghanistan” Pashto Language, Peshawar, Maiwand Publishing Company.
• Barry, Charles L. and Greene, Samuel R. (2009), What Democracy for Afghanistan?,
• Washington, National Defense University.
• Constable, Pamela (2007), “A wake-up Call in Afghanistan”, Journal of Democracy, Vol. 18, No. 2, pp. 84-98
• Dahl, Robert A. (2000), On Democracy, New Haven, Yale University Press.
• Dupree, Louise (2005), Afghanistan, Karachi, Oxford University Press.
• El Fadl, Khaled Abou, Esposito John L., et al (2004) Islam and the Challenge of Democracy, New Jersey, Princeton University Press.
• Farahi, Abdul Ghafar (2002), “The Era of Democracy and Republic in Afghanistan: 1963-1978” Pashto Language, Peshawar, Danish Publishing Company.
• Freedom House (2012), Freedom in the World 2012, New York.
• Holohan, Anne (2005), Networks of Democracy: Lessons from Kosovo for Afghanistan, Iraq, and Beyond, Stanford California: Stanford University Press.
• Karzai (President) at the Inauguration of New Parliament Jun 29, 2011, Kabul, http://president.gov.af/Content/Media/Documents/StatementbyPresidentK arzaiattheInaugurationofNewParliament_Jun_29_20111810201193051453 553325325.pdf [Accessed 15.09.2012]
• Kean, John (2009) The Life and Death of Democracy, New York, W.W. Norton and Company.
• Larson, Anna (2011), Deconstructing Democracy in Afghanistan, Kabul, Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit.
• Moravchik, Joshua (1991), Exporting Democracy, Washington DC: Publisher for the American Enterprise Institute.
• Qazi, Gul Rahman (2005) “Ethnic Fault Lines in Afghanistan and the Challenge of National Unity”, The Challenge of Rebuilding Afghanistan, Karachi, University of Karachi, pp. 73-87.
• Reuters (2012), Afghans seek shelter in Dubai ahead of pullout, Dubai/Kabul. http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/12/us-afghanistan- dubai-idUSBRE88B1IZ20120912 [Accessed 20.09.2012]
• Tanner, Stephen (2002), Afghanistan: A Military history from Alexander the Great to the Fall of the Taliban, Karachi, Oxford University Press.
• Tessler, Mark (2002), Do Islamic Orientations Influence Attitudes Toward Democracy in the Arab World? Evidence from Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, and Algeria http://www.worldvaluessurvey.org/wvs/articles/folder_published/publicati on_516/files/5_TessIslamDem_2.pdf [19.09.2012]
• The A to Z Guide to Afghanistan Assistance (2012), Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit, Kabul.
• The Asia Foundation (2011), Afghanistan in 2011: A Survey of the Afghan People, Kabul
• The Constitution of Afghanistan (2004), Kabul, Islamic State of Afghanistan Constitutional Commission Secretariat.
• The Economist Intelligence Unit (2011), Democracy Index 2011: Democracy Under Stress, New York.
• Tilly, Charles (2007), Democracy, New York, Cambridge University Press
• Transparency International (2011), Corruption Perceptions Index 2011, Berlin, http://cpi.transparency.org/cpi2011/results/ [Accessed 09.09.2012]
• UNAMA (2012), Afghanistan Annual Report 2011: Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict, Kabul.
• UNAMA (2012), In Security Council, Top UN Envoy Warns of Fragile Security http://unama.unmissions.org/Default.aspx?tabid=12254&ctl=Details&mid =15756&Itemid=35736&language=en-US [Accessed 24.09.2012]
• UNODC, MCR (2011), Afghanistan: Opium Survey 2011, Kabul
• Zakaria, Fareed (2003), The Future of Freedom: Illiberal Democracy at Home and Abroad, New York, W. W. Norton & Company.
• Zarmalwal, Ghulam Muhammad (2004), “Afghanistan until the last Afghan” Pashto Language, Peshawar, Danish Publishing Company