The Constitutional Law and Politics of Ethnic Accommodation

ISBN-13: 9780367715410 / Twarda / 2023 / 216 str.

M. Bashir Mobasher

Opis

This book explores whether the legal and political institutions of Afghanistan have been able to incorporate diverse ethnic groups into the political process

Recenzje

"This　is a first-rate application of political science and institutional theory to a very important — but curiously under-studied — case, which helps to clarify much about why　Afghanistan's democratic experiment ended as it did."

— Benjamin Reilly, East-West Center

"This book offers an unbiased and honest detailing of Afghan governance. If you want to think through what the future of government in Afghanistan might look like, start here."

— Jason Criss Howk, Director of Global Friends of Afghanistan

"In his fresh and astute study, Bashir Mobasher combines a deep understanding of his homeland and political institutions to explain why democracy didn’t blossom in Afghanistan. His analysis uncovers how poor institutional design set up Afghanistan for failure despite its people’s longing for stability and cross-ethnic politics. Vital reading is for those who want to get beyond hoary cliches about Afghanistan to unpack what happened along with what to avoid in future efforts to reconstruct fractured polities."
— David Lublin, American University

"Bashir Mobasher provides a definitive account of how the design of the constitution in Afghanistan not only failed to build a durable state, but also failed the people of the country. Despite so much international attention on the drafting process, this book tackles how experts got so much wrong. This book provides important lessons  and is a must read for scholars and practitioners alike who are engaged in institutional design and constitution building around the world. Mobasher demonstrates the many ways in which context matters for crafting successful and legitimate institutions."

— Jennifer Murtazashvili, University of Pittsburgh 

Spis treści

Table of Contents
List of Tables and Figures 3
Preface 4
Introduction 8
Chapter 1: A Failed Nation or A Failed Constitution? 33
I. What Afghanistanologists Had to Say About Afghanistan? 35
II. Were Afghans Anti-Democratic? 38
III. How Divided Was Afghanistan As A Country & A Nation? 41
What did the Elites Say? 50
IV. A Socially Divorced Constitution 52
Conclusion 54
Chapter 2: The Politics of Coalition Making and Breaking under the Runoff System 56
I. Feature One: The 50 Percent Threshold 58
II. Feature Two: The Disastrous Second Rounds 59
III. Nonconcurrent Electoral Cycles 65
Conclusion 67
Chapter 3: A Dysfunctional Parliament under the Yoke of the SNTV System 68
I. The Nuts and Bolts of the SNTV System 73
A. Feature One: Proportional Representation 75
B. Feature Two: Encouraging Personalistic Politics 77
C. Feature Three: Threshold-Free Elections 81
D. Feature Four: Encouraging the Fragmentation of Parties and Coalition 83
Conclusion 90
Chapter 4: Constitutional Unchecks and Imbalances 91
I. A Look at the Balance of Powers from the Above 93
II. Legislative Powers of the President 96
III. Executive Powers of the President vis-a-vis the House 106
IV. Senate: The Backyard of the President 115
Conclusion 117
Chapter 5: A System of Dual VICE-PRESIDENCY 119
I. Dual Vice Presidency & Its Representational Attributes 120
II. Policy-Free Presidential Team 122
III. The Irrelevant Vice-Presidents 124
Conclusion 129
Chapter 6: A Centralized State in A Decentralized Society 131
I. The Problem of Outsider Governors 133
II. Local Councils (Provincial, District, and Village) 139
Conclusion 142
Chapter 7: Party Nationalization in Disguise 144
I. Lack of Interest in Party Development 146
II. Command and Control Rules 151
III. Laws of Not the Emerging Coalitions 157
Conclusion 162
CONCLUSION 164

O autorze

Dr. Bashir Mobasher is a postdoctoral fellow at the American University’s Department of Sociology and a lecturer of political science at the American University of Afghanistan (AUAF).