Government in Afghanistan
Is the Afghan government powerful enough to prevent the corrupt patronage networks and keep the promise of providing security for the nation? The years of fighting and misery has proved this governmental system to be weak, and as a result caused distress to the nation. The unexpected shift from a monarchy to a Republic began a series of changes that the country had to undertake. Through the course of a century, Afghanistan faced difficulties which once were promised to be taken care of, however, none of the new coming governments demonstrated a trustworthy system of power that would provide the means of normal day living.
Afghanistan is an Islamic Republic. Its constitution divides the government into three separate branches, with an executive branch being the strongest. The other two branches, legislative and judicial, could be overrun by the Grand Council, also called Loya Jirga. All three branches are extremely important to the Afghan government, but the power between them is not distributed equally. In order to convene under certain situations, the constitution calls for Loya Jirga, whose decisions and endorsements are binding (Afghanistan Online).
Loya Jirga is the highest manifestation of the people of Afghanistan. This council is a centuries-old Afghan tradition that contributes into making the government more permanent and stable. This tradition represents the gathering of male representatives from different tribes and factions in Afghanistan- a combination of the wisest, most respected local citizens, and the most powerful or well-connected. The Grand Council deprives from the ancient idea of self governance (ABC news International). It is called together very rarely, unless there is a speci...
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...This new constitution strengthened the power of the executive branch and allowed other parties to participate in government. The withdrawal of the Soviets caused the creation of Islamic-oriented Constitution in 1990, and soon the proclamation of Islamic State (Jurist Legal Intelligence).
The last movement that displaced the government was held by the group called “Taliban”, also referred to as “students of Islam”. With the help of U.S. forces this menacing movement was exterminated, which resulted in the losing their totalitarian group on the area of Kabul to southeastern Afghanistan. One would think that evolution and renovation would be the chief characteristics present in a country drowned by political turmoil. However, the Afghan government’s impotency shattered the nation’s optimistic beliefs and created an environment represented by bitterness and despair.
In My Forbidden Face, Latifa explains how the Taliban are waging a cultural war against Western values. The Taliban’s goal in Kabul is to secure the environment where purity of people, especially of women, may be sacred again. However, in the book, Latifa discusses many issues that the people from Kabul experience at the hands of the Taliban such as the plight of women and men’s struggles, their views on news, media, and art, people’s education, and their religion. Throughout the book, the methods that the Taliban reinforce are very unreasonable, which leads to violence.
The formation of states and political legitimacy has most of the time been intertwined with the religious authority that resided in the state. In Christian Europe, the church was the initial source of legitimacy post-Roman Empire. The rise and fall (and rise again) of the Catholic church and the Protestant Reformation help shaped state structures and ultimately, the rise of the secular state. In contrast, in Dar-al-Islam, there was a unique and changing relationship between the state and the ulamas because politics and religion was more or less in the same realm. In some instances, the state and ulamas remained relatively separate but in other cases, the ulamas became the
Over the course of the last century, the Islamic Republic of Iran (formerly known as Persia) has seen colonialism, the end of a dynasty, the installation of a government by a foreign power, and just over three decades ago, the popular uprising and a cleric-led revolution. These events preceded what could be considered the world’s first Islamic state, as politics and fundamentalist religion are inextricably linked in contemporary Iran. Looking at Iran from the mid 1940’s until the present day, one can trace the path that led to the rise of fundamental Islam in Iran in three distinct periods. The first is that which began with the rise of secular nationalism and the decline of Islam. In the second, the secular, western-friendly government eventually gave way to the Islamic revival in the form of a government takeover by hard-line clerics and disillusioned, fundamentalist youth; both motivated and led by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Rule of Iran by these fundamentalist clerics then led to the formation of the fundamentalist Islamic theocracy that governs present-day Iran. The current government has some democratic appearances, but all real power is in the hands of the supreme leader, an Ayatollah who is chosen by the Assembly of Experts, a group of clerics chosen by the Guardian Council. With the Iranian Revolution, political Islam was born, with the fundamentalists holding the reins of power in Iran to the present day.
Travesties are committed against women every day, in every country, in every city, town and home. In Afghanistan women are not only discriminated against, they are publicly reduced to animals. Women are deprived of basic human rights: they are not allowed to travel outside their homes without being completely covered by the traditional shroud-like burqa; they are not allowed to speak or walk loudly in public; they are not allowed to laugh or speak with other women; they are not allowed to attend school nor work; they are expected to be invisible; they are the ghosts of what were once educated, notable, and successful women. With their ruthless and extreme laws, the Taliban have effectively removed the physical presence of women in Afghanistan. The Taliban have stolen the very souls of these women and have turned them into the “living dead” of Afghanistan. The Taliban’s harsh restrictions and extreme religious laws have tainted the freedoms and basic human rights of the once valued and prominent women of Afghanistan.
The Iranian Revolution of 1979 was a religious uprising that involved the collapse of the longstanding Monarchy in Iran. In this essay, I will compare and contrast the background and ideology of the Iranian Revolution with the Russian Revolution of 1917. I will then outline the major differences and similarities between the two.
The Middle Eastern country of Afghanistan has been the center of a long history of heartless violence and political strife for quite sometime now. Russia’s interest in taking over the country and converting it into another member of it’s Communist entity was one very trying obstacle that Afghanistan has had...
Afghanistan was used as a buffer zone during the Great Game by Soviet Union and the Great Britain. They did not provide Afghanistan with the means to industrialize and that is why Afghanistan remains subsistence agriculture and a reinter state. With the decline of Colonialism after the Third Angola-Afghan war Afghanistan declared Independent (Barfield). When Amanullah Khan seized the throne he was very enthusiastic to develop a strong and modern state. Before Amanullah Khan only some effort had been taken place for state building according to Charles Tilly which was exterminating the internal rival, during the reign of Amir Abdul Rahman Khan, he centralized the power. The trepidation that exists among most of the Afghans leader particularly Abdul Rahman Khan, he was afraid of modernizing the country and did not build railroad because he was assuming that once we build rail road it will open the gates for invasion by super power. And because of territorial integrity Abdul Rahman khan disregarded British direct involvement in building infrastructure. Instead, Abdul Rahman Khan primarily relied on subsidiaries which as a result Afghanistan remain “reinter state” (Barfied, 2010). As Tilly argues attributes of state building worked in Europe was because of industrialization prop up by capitalism. The state became powerful in bringing the producers under its supervision. Charles Tilly argues, war formulates state and duress exploitation played a vital part in the establishment of the European states. In addition, Tilly makes it very lucid that in Europe, state making and mercantile capitalism reinforced each other (Tilly 1985). By this, he means the four main aspects of state building: state making, war making, extraction and protecti...
Arjomand, Said Amir. “Iran's Islamic Revolution in Comparative Perspective.” World Politics, Volume 38, Issue 3 (1986. 4), 383-414.
After the deposing of the shah by revolution, the people of Iran elected a democratic l...
Canada has played a vital role in international relations for the majority of its 144 year history since the signing of Confederation in 1867. Canada first participated in World War I, then World War II in 1939-1945. Following World War II, Canada was also involved in the Korean War. Canada has been primarily a peacekeeping nation. There are many questions people ask when a high income country goes to help a lower income nation such as Afghanistan. What are Canada’s motives for helping out Afghanistan? Who will benefit from Canada going to war in Afghanistan? These are some of the questions many people have. While Canada has many domestic problems of its own such as homelessness, poverty and increasing national debt, why should Canada get involved with a problem that is across the globe? Are the costs of going to war out weight the political benefits? Modernity, modernization theory and gender stratification are some key concepts that are related to Canada going to war in Afghanistan.
One aspect of the novel that highlights this struggle is its setting, as it takes place during four time periods, each at a different stage in Afghan history. Throughout these unstable decades, the country’s government went through continuous upheavals with each new government advocating different
Afghanistan since its beginning has been a place of conflict, despair, and at times lost hope. It has been taken advantage of and lost its sense of identity, which has had a direct effect on its people, and there own sense of what justice truly is.
A revolution is a mass movement that intends to violently transform the old government into a new political system. The Iranian Revolution, which began in 1979 after years of climax, was an uprising against the Shah’s autocratic rule resulting in much religious and political change. Shah Muhammad Reza Pahlavi made efforts to remove Islamic values and create a secular rule and “westernize” Iran through his White Revolution. In addition, his tight dictatorial rule and attempts at military expansion felt threatening to the people, who desired a fairer governmental rule immensely influenced by Islam. Afterwards, governmental affairs became extremely influenced by Islamic traditions and law which created changes religiously and politically for years to come. Although the Iranian Revolution was both a political and religious movement in that it resulted in major shifts in government structure from an autocracy to a republic and that Islamic beliefs were fought to be preserved, it was more a religious movement in that the primary goal of the people was to preserve traditional ideology and in that the government became a theocracy intertwined with religious laws and desires of the people.
Afghanistan; Taliban controlled, discrimination and love everywhere yet nowhere at the same time. It’s a nation where culture and tradition are of immense importance, especially to the older generation. Over 53% of Afghan population is below the poverty line, making the country one of the Earth’s poorest. Life would be lived on a day to day basis, not knowing if it’s safe to be outside, when...
Council, H. P. (2012). Afghanistan's vision by 2015 . Kabul: High Peace Council law committee .