Table Of ContentPraise for LC Noah CoburN and aNNa LarsoN
ao
noah coburn is a political Derailing Democracy in afghanistan rb Since the invaSion of Afghan-
su
anthropologist at Bennington College in or istan in 2001, researchers, policymakers, and
NN DeraiLing
Vermont. He has conducted fieldwork in “A fascinating look into how Afghan politics trump Western political theory, the media have failed to consider the long-
Afghanistan since 2005, focusing on polit- Derailing Democracy is readable yet filled with insight. The book is a serious critique of term implications of the country’s post-con-
international democracy practice and funding that needs attention well beyond those
ical and economic life in Afghanistan, par- D flict elections. Based on fieldwork in prov-
interested in Afghanistan. It highlights the consequences of letting donor expediency
ticularly on issues of violence, conflict, and inces across the country and interviews with
sideline cultural understanding, including the multifaceted role of violence.” e DeMocracY
local governance. His book, Bazaar Politics: r more than seven hundred candidates, officials,
—ronald neumann, United States Ambassador to Afghanistan, 2005–2007
Power and Pottery in an Afghan Market Town, a community leaders, and voters, this book
i
was the first full-length ethnography of a l builds an in-depth portrait of Afghanistan’s
“More snake oil than panacea, the promise of elections in Afghanistan has failed to create a in afghaniStan
Tajik community in Afghanistan. He i recent elections as experienced by individu-
representative government—and worse—has displaced other tested traditions of consensus n
received his doctorate from the Anthropol- building that Afghans have long relied upon. Derailing Democracy explains why this is the case, als and communities, while revealing how the
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ogy Department at Boston University. but the lessons it draws have much wider applicability well beyond Afghanistan.” elections have in fact actively contributed to
D
—thomas barfield, author of Afghanistan: A Political and Cultural History instability, undermining the prospects of
elections in an Unstable Political landscape
anna LarSon is an academic e democracy in Afghanistan.
m
researcher focusing on democratization, “Derailing Democracy is timely and highly relevant; the combination of political science Merging political science with anthro-
governance, and gender in fragile states. and anthropology is of great potential. The authors argue convincingly that the o pology, Noah Coburn and Anna Larson
She worked in Afghanistan between 2004 way in which elections have been implemented in Afghanistan has contributed c document how political leaders, command-
to the destabilization of the country.”
and 2010, leading research pro grams in r ers, and the new ruling elite have used elec-
governance for the Kabul-based Afghanistan —alessandro Monsutti, author of War and Migration: Social Networks a tions to further their own interests and
and Economic Strategies of the Hazaras of Afghanistan c
Research and Evaluation Unit (AREU). deprive local communities of access to
y
She has published widely on issues of political opportunities. They retrace presi-
“Noah Coburn and Anna Larson refuse to describe the democratization process
democratization, political party develop- i dential, parliamentary, and provincial coun-
in Afghanistan in the simplistic terms of the success or failure of elections, but instead n
ment, elections, gender, and parliamentary cil elections over the past decade and expose
describe how the introduction of elections by the international community altered
dynamics. She com pleted her doctoral stud- and reshaped Afghan power dynamics, paradoxically creating a less democratic a the role of international actors in promoting
ies in postwar recovery at the University politics and a more corrupt elite.” f the polls as one-off events, detached from
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of York, UK. —Scott Seward Smith, director of Afghanistan and Central Asia Programs, the broader political landscape. This approach
h
United States Institute of World Peace, and author of Afghanistan’s Troubled to elections has allowed existing local pow-
Jacket image: AP Photo/Thomas Munita Transition: Politics, Peacekeeping, and the 2004 Presidential Electiont a
erholders to solidify their grip on resourc-
Jacket Design: Bryce Schimanski n
es and opportunities, derailing democratiza-
i
tion processes and entrenching a deeper
columbia university Press s
t disengagement from central government.
new York
cup.columbia.edu a Western powers, Coburn and Larson argue,
n
need to reevaluate their most basic assump-
tions about elections, democracy, and inter-
national intervention if they hope to prevent
ISBN: 978-0-231-16620-1
similar outcomes in the future.
9 780231 166201
PRINTED IN THE U.S.A. columbia
DERAILING DEMOCRACY IN
AFGHANISTAN
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NOAH COBURN
and
ANNA LARSON
DERAILING
DEMOCRACY IN
AFGHANISTAN
Elections in an Unstable
Political Landscape
Columbia University Press / New York
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Columbia University Press
Publishers Since 1893
New York Chichester, West Sussex
cup.columbia.edu
Copyright © 2014 Columbia University Press
All rights reserved
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Coburn, Noah.
Derailing democracy in Afghanistan : elections in an unstable political
landscape / Noah Coburn and Anna Larson.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-231-16620-1 (cloth : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-0-231-53574-8
(ebook)
1. Elections—Afghanistan. 2. Democracy—Afghanistan. 3. Democratization—
Afghanistan. 4. Afghanistan—Politics and government—2001– I. Larson,
Anna, M.Sc. II. Title.
JQ1769.A5C63 2013
324.9581—dc23
2013029061
Columbia University Press books are printed on permanent and durable
acid-free paper.
This book is printed on paper with recycled content.
Printed in the United States of America
c 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
jacket design: Bryce Scimanski
References to websites (URLs) were accurate at the time of writing. Neither the
author nor Columbia University Press is responsible for URLs that may have
expired or changed since the manuscript was prepared.
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CONTENTS
List of Illustrations vii
List of Abbreviations ix
Chronology: Timeline of Elections and
Other Major Historical Events in Afghanistan, 1931–2011 xi
Democracy Derailed? xiii
Map of Afghanistan xx
1. UNDERSTANDING ELECTIONS IN AFGHANISTAN
1
2. OF BALLOTS AND BOUNDARIES:
A Brief History of Political Participation in Afghanistan
29
3. ELECTING THE PEACE?
Afghanistan’s Fast-Track Democracy
42
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CONTENTS
4. A HOUSE OF SAND:
The Fallout of the 2005 Parliamentary Election
63
5. ENGINEERING ELECTIONS LOCALLY
98
6. THE UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES OF
INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT
135
7. VIOLENCE AND VOTING
162
8. “THEY MAKE THEIR ABLUTIONS WITH
BOTTLED WATER”:
Elites and the Decline of Accountability
185
9. INTERNATIONAL INTERVENTION AND
ASPIRATIONS OF REPRESENTATIVE GOVERNANCE
217
Notes 235
References 253
Index 263
vi
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LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
1.1 Street with campaign posters 11
1.2 Campaign posters 12
2.1 Election monitors at a polling station 31
2.2 Provincial ballot 32
4.1 Darulaman Palace 70
4.2 Campaign posters 77
4.3 Female candidate with religious leader Pir Gailani 77
7.1 Man showing his ink-stained finger 170
8.1 Certification sheets 203
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ABBREVIATIONS
AIHRC Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission
APAP Afghanistan Parliamentary Assistance Project
AREU Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit
DFID Department for International Development (UK)
ECC Electoral Complaints Commission
FEFA Free and Fair Election Foundation of Afghanistan
IEC Independent Election Commission
ISAF International Security Assistance Force
JEMB Joint Electoral Management Body
MoWA Ministry of Women’s Affairs
NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organization
PDPA People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan
SNTV Single Non-Transferable Vote
UNAMA United Nations Assistance Mission to Afghanistan
UNDP United Nations Development Program
UNHCR United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
UNIFEM United Nations Development Fund for Women
UNOPS United Nations Office for Project Services
USAID United States Agency for International Development
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