Saturday, November 6, 2010

Political Culture of Afghanistan

A) A major influence on Afghan politics comes from religion, and ethnicity and tribal background. As a largely Islamic nation, most Afghans are connected to each other through a shared organized religion. Therefore, Muslim holy leaders, known as mullahs, hold a large sway of influence over the political positions of ordinary Afghans. Afghanistan is a mixture of numerous ethnicities and different tribal groups. Since Afghanistan has lacked a strong central government for the past 30 years due to constant warfare, their loyalties will tend to be with their own group with whom they share a community with and have similar customs then with a distant unitary government. Other agents of socialization are more traditional ones being built on by the Afghan government and its Western Allies, those being a nationwide media, government programs, and the nation's fledgling education system.

B) Legitimacy for the current Afghan government has been a hard, challenging process which continues to persist to this day. Ever since the overthrow of the Talban regime, the United States and its allies have tried to construct a democratic government to fill in the void left by the Taliban. The goals and aims of this government, as declared by the United States, have been to reconstruct an Afghanistan that recognizes basic human rights, especially those for women. The Constitution of Afghanistan promises freedom of religion(within the boundaries of the law), expression and speech, and basic human rights, including life and liberty. The Afghan government, however, still is trying to gain total legitimacy in the eyes of its allies and the world. The government has long been plagued by corruption, ethnic disputes; factors which make it difficult to establish a stable democracy. It seems to have little direct control beyond urban cities, and cannot extend services or protection to its citizens. Without the support of the United States and its allies, the government would probably collapse from  both inside troubles and from the straining war with the Taliban.

C) In Afghanistan, laws and regulations enacted by its government have had a dangerous affect of alienating the mainstream Afghan society.  Progressive measures  have been taken since the fall of the Taliban to try to ensure the elevation of women in society. Afghan women are now recognized as full citizens and are no longer are mandated to wear the burqa, a symbol of repression under the Taliban regime. These actions, however, are viewed by some as too radical a position for women in Afghanistan. Afghanistan's traditionally conservative society argues that this change is too swift and full integration will only happen at a slower pace. Other acts which have the government unpopular with the public is the open corruption in numerous branches of the government. Afghanistan has recently been ranked as the second most corrupt nation in the world, second to Somalia. Such blatant corruption is undermining faith in an already fragile government, making the mission of strengthening all the more difficult.

D) According to the Afghan Constitution, citizens, including both men and women, are eligible to vote in presidential and parliamentary elections. Despite Afghanistan's democratic society, however, actual political participation among citizens is still less frequently made use of. Partly to blame for this may be a society which has never experienced true democracy in their country prior to 2001. With most Afghans having no experience in political socialization, it is hard to expect them to immediately become more involved in politics. Most of the population lives in rural areas and are more concerned with their own lives and communities than  actively engaging in political events elsewhere in the country. With the war against the Taliban still waging, many are afraid of retribution from the Taliban if they openly participate in political rallies.

E) A majority of Afghanistan's population can be described as being political subjects. As most Afghan live in rural areas, rather than in the cities where politics matters more to citizens there, they are both physically and theoretically cut off from political engagement. Afghanistan's varying landscape makes travel difficult for ordinary Afghans, who only travel outside their communities for personally important business. Since they are so detached from political life, these Afghans amy feel as though laws and decisions made in Kabul don't directly affect them.

F) Afghanistan has experienced a series of different governments for the past forty years, ever since the overthrow of Afghanistan's king in 1973. Since that time, Afghanistan has been witness to a series of leaders, from a "republic" led by the king's cousin, a communist government held up by Soviet troops, a period of anarchy between feuding warlords, the Taliban, and the current Islamic Republic of Hamid Karzai. Due to these unsettling political changes, the citizens of Afghanistan have been unable to truly have an active participation in government. Most Afghans continue to be in the "subject" category of citizens relationship with their government.

G)  As previously explained, Afghanistan's unstable condition has been damaging to the process of political socialization. Most Afghans are not involved in any political activity and some still have loyalty to their own ethnicity or tribe. These factors make it difficult for the Afghan government to establish a bond with its citizens. 

H) The political subculture of Afghanistan is difficult to decipher. There is no clear consensus whether average Afghans are supportive of their government and its ally the US. There are some sources which claim that a majority of Afghans wish for the US to leave their county after nine years of occupation; on the other hand there are sources which also claim that Afghans wish US troops to stay longer to bolster up the government and prevent the rise of another Taliban regime. An established fact is hostility to the Taliban, according to a Western media poll, which shows 90% of Afghans opposing the Taliban. About 60% favored peace talks with the Taliban, though 71% believed such talks should only continue if the Taliban would stop fighting.

Sources included:
http://www.afghan-web.com/woman/
http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/Latest-News-Wires/2010/1027/Corrupt-countries-Iraq-Afghanistan-among-most-corrupt
http://www.afghan-web.com/politics/current_constitution.html
http://www.axisoflogic.com/artman/publish/Article_57168.shtml

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