Afghanistan Official Title: Islamic Republic of Afghanistan General Information

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Afghanistan Official Title: Islamic Republic of Afghanistan General Information: Capital Kabul Population (million) 32.941n/a Total Area 652,090 km² Currency 1 CAN$=57.359 Afghani (AFN) (2020 - Annual average) National Holiday Independence Day, 19 August Language(s) Pashtu, Dari, Turkic languages (incl. Uzbek & Turkmen), 30 other languages Political Information: Type of State Islamic Republic Type of Government Consisting of three branches: executive, legislature and judiciary. The president is both the chief of state and head of government. The cabinet consists of 25-30 ministers appointed by the president and approved by the National Assembly. The National Assembly consists of the Bilateral Product trade Upper House (Meshrano Jirga) (102 seats, one-third elected from provincial councils for 4- Canada - Afghanistan year terms, one-third elected from local district councils for 3-year terms, and one-third 35 nominated by the president for 5-year terms) and the Lower House (Wolesi Jirga) (250 seats), 30 directly elected for 5-year terms. The constitution establishes a Supreme Court and Balance subordinate Courts. 25 Can. 20 Head of State Head of Government Exports President President 15 Can. Imports Ashraf Ghani Ashraf Ghani Millions 10 Total 5 Trade Ministers: Foreign Affairs: Mohammad Haneef Atmar 0 Defence: Asadullah Khalid 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 Statistics Canada Finance: Abdul Hadi Arghandiwal Interior: Masoud Andrabi Main Political Parties Canadian Imports Afghanistan has a nascent democracy; its multi-party system is still developing. from: Afghanistan Veg. Prod. Textiles Prod. Base M etal Prod. Food Prod. M ach. M ech. Elec. Prod. Precio us Elections: Presidentn/a and vice president: Last in Sept 2019 (first round). Parliament: Last in M etals/ stones Oct. 2018. 2020 Statistics Canada Economic Information: (2020) IMF (estimates) Afghanistan Canada Canadian Exports GDP: (billion) $25.17n/a $2,162.38 to: Afghanistan GDP per capita: $764.23n/a $56,945.03 M ach. M ech. Elec. GDP Growth rate: (%) -5.00n/a -5.40 Prod. Inflation: (%) 5.61n/a 0.72 Base M etal Prod. Unemployment: (%) n/a 9.60 V ehicles and Equip. Product Trade and Investment: (2020) Statistics Canada Chemical Prod. Canadian Exports: $13,880,552n/a Food Prod. Canadian Imports: $5,327,513n/a Wood Prod. 2020 Foreign Direct Investment in Canada n/a (million) Statistics Canada Canadian Direct Investment in country n/a (million) Sources: Representation: Statistics/Industry Canada http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/tdo-dcd.nsf/eng/Home Foreign Representation in Canada IMF Ambassador Mohammad Hassan Soroosh Yousufzai http://www.imf.org/external/ns/cs.aspx?id=28 Canadian Representation Abroad Ambassador-designate Reid Sirrs May 2021 www.international.gc.ca HTML version: https://www.international.gc.ca/country-pays/fact_sheet-fiche_documentaire/afghanistan.aspx?lang=eng.

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Afghanistan: Government Formation and Performance
Afghanistan: Government Formation and Performance Kenneth Katzman Specialist in Middle Eastern Affairs June 5, 2009 Congressional Research Service 7-5700 www.crs.gov RS21922 CRS Report for Congress Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress Afghanistan: Government Formation and Performance Summary The central government’s limited writ and widespread official corruption are helping sustain a Taliban insurgency, and have fed pessimism about the Afghanistan stabilization effort. However, ethnic disputes remain confined largely to political debate and competition, enabling President Hamid Karzai to focus on trying to build Afghan institutions, and on his bid for re-election in presidential elections slated for August 20, 2009. Karzai has faced substantial loss of public confidence, in large part due to widespread official corruption, but his opponents—divided by ethnicity and personal ambition—were unable to form a strong electoral coalition as the presidential election registration process closed on May 8, 2009. At the same time, U.S. officials have been shifting away from reliance on building the central government and toward promoting local governing bodies and security initiatives. That trend is to accelerate, according to the Obama Administration’s review of U.S. strategy, the results of which were announced on March 27, 2009. The core of the new strategy is a so-called “civilian surge” that will virtually double, to about 900, the number of U.S. civilian personnel to deploy to Afghanistan to help build its governing and security institution, and to increase economic development efforts. The Administration also says it will develop “metrics” by which to judge the performance and legitimacy of the Afghan government, including its efforts to curb official corruption, although the Administration and many in Congress appear reluctant to tie any U.S.
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The Network Politics of International Statebuilding: Intervention and Statehood in Post-2001 Afghanistan
The Network Politics of International Statebuilding: Intervention and Statehood in Post-2001 Afghanistan Submitted by Timor Sharan to the University of Exeter as a thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Politics In October 2013 This thesis is available for Library use on the understanding that it is copyright material and that no quotation from the thesis may be published without proper acknowledgement. I certify that all material in this thesis which is not my own work has been identified and that no material has previously been submitted and approved for the award of a degree by this or any other University. Signature: ………………………………………………………….. 1 ABSTRACT This thesis focuses on international intervention and statebuilding in post- 2001 Afghanistan. It offers an alternative lens, a network lens, to understand the complexity of internationally sponsored state re-building and transformation. It therefore analyses how political power is assembled and flows through political networks in statebuilding, with an eye to the hitherto ignored endogenous political networks. The empirical chapters investigate the role and power dynamics of Afghan political network in re-assembling and transforming the post-2001 state once a political settlement is reached; how everyday political network practices shape the nature of statehood and governance; and subsequently how these power dynamics and practices contribute towards political order/violence and stability/instability. This thesis challenges the dominant wisdom that peacebuilding is a process of democratisation or institutionalisation, showing how intervention has unintentionally produced the democratic façade of a state, underpinning by informal power structures of Afghan politics. The post-2001 intervention has fashioned a ‘network state’ where the state and political networks have become indistinguishable from one another: the empowered network masquerade as the state.
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Afghanistan Official Title: Islamic Republic of Afghanistan General Information
Afghanistan Official Title: Islamic Republic of Afghanistan General Information: Capital Kabul Population (million) 36n./0a20 Total Area 652,090 km² Currency 1 CAN$=57.107 Afghani (AFN) (2018 - Annual average) National Holiday Independence Day, 19 August Language(s) Pashtu, Dari, Turkic languages (incl. Uzbek & Turkmen), 30 other languages Political Information: Type of State Islamic Republic Type of Government Consisting of three branches: executive, legislature and judiciary. The president is both the chief of state and head of government. The cabinet consists of 25-30 ministers appointed by the president and approved by the National Assembly. The National Assembly consists of the Bilateral Product trade Upper House (Meshrano Jirga) (102 seats, one-third elected from provincial councils for 4-year Canada - Afghanistan terms, one-third elected from local district councils for 3-year terms, and one-third nominated 35 by the president for 5-year terms) and the Lower House (Wolesi Jirga) (250 seats), directly 30 elected for 5-year terms. The constitution establishes a Supreme Court and subordinate Courts. Balance 25 s Can. 20 Head of State Head of Government n Exports o i l l 15 Can. President President i Imports Ashraf Ghani Ashraf Ghani M 10 Total 5 Trade Ministers: Foreign Affairs: Haroon Chakhansuri (Acting) 0 Defence: Asadullah Khalid (Acting) 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 Statistics Canada Finance: Mohammad Humayon Qayoumi(Acting) Interior: Masoud Andarabi(Acting) Main Political Parties Canadian Imports Afghanistan has a nascent democracy; its multi-party system is still developing. from: Afghanistan V eg . Pro d . M ach. M ech. Elec. Prod . Text iles Pro d .
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Politics and Governance in Afghanistan: the Case of Kandahar
Researching livelihoods and services affected by conflict Politics and Afghanistan governance in Kandahar Afghanistan: * The case of Kandahar Working Paper 34 Ashley Jackson June 2015 About us Secure Livelihoods Research Consortium (SLRC) aims to generate a stronger evidence base on how people make a living, educate their children, deal with illness and access other basic services in conflict-affected situations (CAS). Providing better access to basic services, social protection and support to livelihoods matters for the human welfare of people affected by conflict, the achievement of development targets such as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and international efforts at peace- and state-building. At the centre of SLRC’s research are three core themes, developed over the course of an intensive one- year inception phase: . State legitimacy: experiences, perceptions and expectations of the state and local governance in conflict-affected situations . State capacity: building effective states that deliver services and social protection in conflict- affected situations . Livelihood trajectories and economic activity under conflict The Overseas Development Institute (ODI) is the lead organisation. SLRC partners include the Centre for Poverty Analysis (CEPA) in Sri Lanka, Feinstein International Center (FIC, Tufts University), the Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit (AREU), the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) in Pakistan, Disaster Studies of Wageningen University (WUR) in the Netherlands, the Nepal Centre for Contemporary Research (NCCR), and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Secure Livelihoods Research Consortium Disclaimer: The views presented in this paper are those of the Overseas Development Institute author(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of DFID, 203 Blackfriars Road Irish Aid, the EC, SLRC or our partners, SLRC Working Papers London SE1 8NJ present information, analysis on issues relating to livelihoods, United Kingdom basic services and social protection in conflict affected situations.
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Afghanistan: Politics, Elections, and Government Performance
Afghanistan: Politics, Elections, and Government Performance Kenneth Katzman Specialist in Middle Eastern Affairs November 8, 2011 Congressional Research Service 7-5700 www.crs.gov RS21922 CRS Report for Congress Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress Afghanistan: Politics, Elections, and Government Performance Summary The limited capacity and widespread corruption of all levels of Afghan governance are factors in debate over the effectiveness of U.S. policy in Afghanistan and in implementing a transition to Afghan security leadership by the end of 2014. The capacity of the formal Afghan governing structure has increased significantly since the Taliban regime fell in late 2001, but many positions, particularly at the local level, are unfilled. Widespread illiteracy limits expansion of a competent bureaucracy. A dispute over the results of the 2010 parliamentary elections paralyzed governance for nearly a year and was resolved in September 2011 with the unseating on the grounds of fraud of nine winners of the elected lower house of parliament. Karzai also has tried, through direct denials, to quell assertions by his critics that he wants to stay in office beyond the 2014 expiration of his second term, the limits under the constitution. While trying, with mixed success, to build the formal governing structure, Afghan President Hamid Karzai also works through an informal power structure centered around his close ethnic Pashtun allies as well as other ethnic and political faction leaders. Some faction leaders oppose Karzai on the grounds that he is too willing to make concessions to insurgent leaders in search of a settlement—a criticism that grew following the September 20 assassination of the most senior Tajik leader, former President Burhanuddin Rabbani.
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Understanding Ethnic-Electoral Dynamics: How Ethnic Politics Affect Electoral Laws and Election Outcomes in Afghanistan
MOBASHER 4/18/2016 3:11 PM UNDERSTANDING ETHNIC-ELECTORAL DYNAMICS: HOW ETHNIC POLITICS AFFECT ELECTORAL LAWS AND ELECTION OUTCOMES IN AFGHANISTAN *Mohammad Bashir Mobasher After the fall of the Taliban in 2001, Afghanistan began transitioning toward democracy. The democratization, which began with the Bonn Agreement, was very promising for all ethnic groups in Afghanistan. The Bonn Agreement provided that Afghanistan must establish “broad based, gender sensitive, multi- ethnic and fully representative government.”1 As a part of this agreement, Afghanistan adopted a new Constitution in 2004, which established elections as the foundation for representative government and guaranteed that the elections be inclusive, fair, and representative of all groups and regions. Despite this progress in the laws, Afghanistan has not been able to reduce ethnic tensions. In fact, this article shows that ethnic tensions tend to intensify during elections, a result that belies the vision of the Bonn Agreement. After presenting a statistical and qualitative analysis of voting practices across three presidential elections and 26 provinces, this article makes several observations about the role of ethnicity in Afghan presidential elections. These observations are: (1) people of an ethnic community are more likely to vote for a candidate of their own ethnic group; (2) voters from one ethnic group are likely to vote for a candidate from another ethnic group only when they do not have a candidate of their own; (3) cross ethnic voting is more likely to occur in blocs and in exchange for patronage to the elites of voting groups; and (4) candidates and ethno-political elites tend to prioritize their electoral campaigns by ethnic mobilization, manipulation of laws and political bargains rather than by policy development in order to generate votes.
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BACKGROUNDER December 20, 2012
Julie Super, Spencer Butts, and Jeffrey Dressler BACKGROUNDER December 20, 2012 Unpacking the AttempteD AssassinatioN of Asadullah Khalid suicide bombing in Kabul on December 6 targeted the head of the Afghan National Directorate of Security A (NDS), Asadullah Khalid, in an event that has rattled Afghan elites and rekindled controversy between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Khalid is known to be a staunch Taliban opponent, and he ranks among Kabul’s most influential, yet controversial, powerbrokers with significant sway in the Karzai administration. Given Khalid’s role in Afghanistan’s political space and security apparatus and the nature of the attack, Thursday’s event could have significant implications as 2014 approaches. Afghan suspicions are pointed at Pakistan over the attack, and despite Taliban claims of responsibility, the attempt on Khalid’s life will likely complicate the peace process and tenuous reconciliation efforts by driving deeper a wedge of distrust between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Asadullah Khalid is a well-entrenched figure in the post- over security responsibility for the southern zone in 2011, 9/11 network of Afghan leadership. Accounts of his history Khalid is believed also to have assumed AWK’s role of head before 2001 vary: some accounts place him at Tajikistan of the Kandahar Strike Force, an anti-Taliban militia that University from 1996 to 2001, while others state that he works closely with U.S. Special Forces and the CIA and has was a follower of Muhajideen leader Abdul Rasul Sayyaf been entangled in accusations of serious abuses, according collecting Stinger missiles on his behalf in 2000 and 2001.1 to AAN.6 In 2002, he was appointed as head of the NDS chief’s “5th department.”2 He served as the Governor of Ghazni More recently, as Minister of Tribal and Border Affairs, province from 2003 to 2005 and Governor of Kandahar Khalid became involved in anti-Taliban uprisings in province from 2005 to 2008.3 He failed to gain enough Andar, Ghazni.
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Carl Forsberg STUDY of WAR CONGRESSIONAL TESTIMONY Military a Nalysis Andeducation for Civilian Leaders June 22, 2010
INSTITUTE FOR THE Carl Forsberg STUDY of WAR CONGRESSIONAL TESTIMONY Military A nalysis andEducation for Civilian Leaders June 22, 2010 Private Security Contracting and the Counterinsurgency Mission in Afghanistan United States House of Representatives, Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on National Security and Foreign Affairs Testimony by Carl Forsberg Institute for the Study of War June 22, 2010 1400 16TH STREET NW I SUITE 515 I WASHINGTON, DC 20036 I 202.293.5550 CONGRESSIONAL TESTIMONY | Carl ForsBerg | June 22, 2010 RECOMMENDATIONS h A strong personality-driven political order is emerging in Afghanistan which undermines ISAF’s goals. This report discusses the historical context of governance structures in Kandahar, the declining influence of tribes, Kandahar’s current powerbrokers, and the rise of the Karzai family. h Kandahar is strategic terrain for the Quetta Shura Taliban and the Karzai family, and a central focus of ISAF’s 2010 counterinsurgency campaign. h Ahmed Wali Karzai’s influence over Kandahar is the central obstacle to any of ISAF’s governance objectives, and a consistent policy for dealing with him must be a central element of any new strategy. Wali Karzai’s behavior and waning popularity among local populations promote instability and provide space for the Taliban to exist. h ISAF has inadvertently strengthened the forces that undermine legitimate government institutions. ISAF must shape the political landscape in Kandahar so that the local government becomes a credible partner. h ISAF must develop a new coherent strategy that is unified in both Kandahar and Kabul and that recognizes the means by which informal power structures co-opt and undermine the development of robust institutions.
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Today We Shall All Die” Afghanistan’S Strongmen and the Legacy of Impunity WATCH
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Today We Shall All Die” Afghanistan’S Strongmen and the Legacy of Impunity WATCH
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Post-Taliban State-Building in Afghanistan
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Embassy Kabul US Embassy Diplomatic Cables Wikileaks
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