The challenges to nation building in Afghanistan continues....

Hurdles



Afghanistan’s political reconstruction faces a number of hurdles. While the Bonn Agreement of December 2001 has laid the foundation for a change in the political setup, several forces impede the path to a smooth transition. It is often observed that when war comes to a halt allowing

war-torn societies to rebuild their political and physical infrastructure, it leads to a number of ceasefires, negotiations and confidence-building measures between warring factions. Hence from here an evolution to a stable, participatory, broadly representative political institution is a

complicated and difficult process.

Predicting the future is difficult given

the fact that uncertainty an unpredictability have been the hallmark of Afghanistan for most of its existence. The questions that are of vital importance are why Afghanistan has had such a turbulent history and is so chronically vulnerable to domestic instability, foreign intervention and ideological extremisms. One has to determine whether the country’s geo - strategic location, ethnic mosaic or cross-border interactions with

neighbours, intermixture of all these or any other less conventional factor

is responsible for it.

A peaceful political transition requires the establishment of a functioning government acceptable to the different parties, along with the formation of mutually agreeable expectations and rules for inter-group dynamics. A minimal consensus regarding the rules of political competition is essential to institution building. It is not always easy to find a satisfactory political formula following many years of struggle and a compromise to develop a final political framework. Given the impact of formal institutional structures on political functioning, adopting an appropriate political system is important. Ideally, the design of a new political structure has to reflect cultural practices and social experiences.

Constitution making needs to be carried out within a process of national discourse, the ability to seize power through military might is to be replaced by the electorates’ choice and there should be an acceptance of the opposition party’s role in the new political system.

To be continued....