Posts Tagged ‘President Karzai’
The ‘Democracy of Warlords’ in Afghanistan
As Afghanistan Presidential elections approach the promise of change, stability and inclusive democracy have gained momentum across the country. There is little doubt that the polls, scheduled for August 20, will be hailed as a victory for the Afghan people in the Western media. Before explaining how things might change after the elections it is important to assess the current state of governance in the country. The U.S. has been blaming President Hamid Karzai for rampant corruption while President Karzai has expressed concern with regard to the role (and to some degree interference) of the NATO forces in the country. In the midst of these allegations and counter allegations there is one aspect of Afghanistan’s emerging political structure which has been overlooked: the role of warlords in Afghanistan’s emerging democracy.
{Picture Courtesy: Press for Conversion!}
Women’s Rights in Afghanistan and Pakistan - Genuine Concerns or Political Considerations
The international opposition to a recent law in Afghanistan undermining the women’s rights is a welcome move. The new sharia family law, signed by Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai on March 31, deals with issues of marriage, divorce, inheritance and sexual relations. Most of the provisions have put women in a disadvantage position, even allowing what the Western Human Rights observes refer to as marital rape. Though President Karzai has agreed to review the law, the international community continues to target the Afghan government with reintroducing laws reminiscent of the Taliban regime. The law was also criticized by the leaders attending the NATO Summit in early April. The specifics of the law apart, criticism is being focused on the possible use of the law as a vote gathering strategy by President Karzai. Many observers view President Karzai’s move as the appeasement of the fundamentalist and Shi’ite factions ahead of the Presidential elections in August.Â
But before this surge of international protest against President Karzai’s government is accepted a few revelations are important. Click to continue…
South Asia and the Fourth Wave of Democracy
The Third Wave of Democracy swept through South Asia accompanied with apprehensions and anticipation about how democracy would treat South Asia and how South Asia would treat democracy. This exciting interaction led to helpful answers and new questions regarding the prospects of democracy in the developing countries. South Asia’s reactions to the third wave and consequent developments can provide an insight into the design of the distinctive democratic models emerging across the globe. The third wave was characterized by five forms of regime change, three of which have been witnessed in South Asia. The relevant forms of regime change include: Â
- Cyclical- alteration between democracy and authoritarianism
- Second-Try Pattern: Weak democracy gives way to authoritarianism which is replaced by stronger democracy
- Interrupted Democracy: Temporary suspension of democratic system and then its resumption
Without exception, all countries of the South Asia region have demonstrated one of the above patterns during their political evolution. The commonality running through these patterns has been a matter of grave regional and international concern: the lack of sustainable democracy in South Asia. Authoritarianism makes an unfortunate return at regular intervals in most of the regional states. Political reforms during the present decade show encouraging signs of greater democratization among the South Asian states. The trials and tribulations of the past experiments and the present challenges reveal certain interesting characteristics of the regional democratic endeavour. The uniqueness of the ‘attempts at democracy’ in South Asia is not only an analytical challenge but also a rare lesson in the consistent desire for democracy despite recurring failure. The developments in South Asia mark the beginning of the Fourth wave of democracy: trial and error democracy to evolve appropriate variants of Western liberal democracy. This wave is inspired by the failure to duplicate the popular tenets of Western democracies, the attempts to align demands of identity and freedom in new democracies, proper balance of state guidance and individual freedom and a process which while maintaining the distinctiveness of various ethnic, religious and cultural diversities successfully undertakes the nation-building endeavour.
Political developments in each of the eight states are specimens for comprehending the future of the Fourth wave. The present discussion is not expected to be a historical narrative of democratic experiments in South Asia. It is an attempt to understand the democratic innovativeness, in response to national demands, and its consequent impact on the nature of the political systems in South Asia. Click to continue…