1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910787615203321

Autore

Coburn Noah

Titolo

Derailing democracy in Afghanistan : elections in an unstable political landscape / / Noah Coburn and Anna Larson ; Bryce Scimanski, jacket design

Pubbl/distr/stampa

New York : , : Columbia University Press, , 2014

©2014

ISBN

0-231-53574-0

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (305 p.)

Altri autori (Persone)

LarsonAnna

ScimanskiBryce

Disciplina

324.9581

Soggetti

Elections - Afghanistan

Democracy - Afghanistan

Democratization - Afghanistan

Afghanistan Politics and government 2001-2021

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

Front matter -- CONTENTS -- LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS -- ABBREVIATIONS -- CHRONOLOGY -- DEMOCRACY DERAILED? -- Map of Afghanistan -- 1. UNDERSTANDING ELECTIONS IN AFGHANISTAN -- 2. OF BALLOTS AND BOUNDARIES -- 3. ELECTING THE PEACE? -- 4. A HOUSE OF SAND -- 5. ENGINEERING ELECTIONS LOCALLY -- 6. THE UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES OF INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT -- 7. VIOLENCE AND VOTING -- 8. "THEY MAKE THEIR ABLUTIONS WITH BOTTLED WATER" -- 9. INTERNATIONAL INTERVENTION AND ASPIRATIONS OF REPRESENTATIVE GOVERNANCE -- NOTES -- REFERENCES -- INDEX

Sommario/riassunto

Since the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, researchers, policymakers, and the media have failed to consider the long-term implications of the country's post-conflict elections. Based on fieldwork in provinces across the country and interviews with more than seven hundred candidates, officials, community leaders, and voters, this book builds an in-depth portrait of Afghanistan's recent elections as experienced by individuals and communities, while revealing how the elections have



in fact actively contributed to instability, undermining the prospects of democracy in Afghanistan. Merging political science with anthropology, Noah Coburn and Anna Larson document how political leaders, commanders, and the new ruling elite have used elections to further their own interests and deprive local communities of access to political opportunities. They retrace presidential, parliamentary, and provincial council elections over the past decade and expose the role of international actors in promoting the polls as one-off events, detached from the broader political landscape. This approach to elections has allowed existing local powerholders to solidify their grip on resources and opportunities, derailing democratization processes and entrenching a deeper disengagement from central government. Western powers, Coburn and Larson argue, need to reevaluate their most basic assumptions about elections, democracy, and international intervention if they hope to prevent similar outcomes in the future.