Dear Katie,
First of all, I?d say that the answer I would answer to this question
would be, in one word, ?no? (although the Taliban has been officially
removed from power in Afghanistan, it is not ?finished? and democracy
doesn?t flourish ? of many different reasons ? in Afghanistan).
However, I will let you be the judge and draw your own conclusions for
your presentation from the material I am about to give you.
You might want to first read, if you absolutely have no knowledge in
the area, some encyclopedic reference material about the recent
developments in Afghanistan. This would give you the information you
were looking for regarding dates of important events, important
personalities, and significant trends. It might, in fact, be enough to
prepare your presentation.
Wikipedia ? Afghanistan
< http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afghanistan> (general information about
the country and its history).
Wikipedia - History of Afghanistan since 1992
< http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Afghanistan_since_1992> For example:
?Current problems that exist for the administration include
controlling bands of bandits roaming Afghanistan's rural sector,
removing the debris (and in particular, unmapped buried landmines)
from decades of civil war from the countryside, and rebuilding the
Afghan economy. Political violence also remains a problem. Hamid Kazai
was the target of an unsuccessful assassination attempt in September
5, 2002. Numerous bombs have exploded in Kabul, targeting the
international peacekeepers of the International Security Assistance
Force. The Taliban has not disappeared, and still mounts a
resistance.?
Wikipedia - Politics of Afghanistan
< http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics_of_Afghanistan>
Some other sources that can help you:
Mark Sedra & Peter Middlebrook, ?Revisioning the International Compact
for Afghanistan? November 2, 2005, Foreign Policy in Focus, <
http://www.fpif.org/fpiftxt/2912>
Mark Sedra, ?Afghanistan: Democracy Before Peace?? September 2004,
Foreign Policy in Focus <
http://www.fpif.org/papers/2004afghandem.html>
BBC Q&A: Democracy in Afghanistan
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3238271.stm>
NPR Special: Elections in Afghanistan
< http://www.npr.org/news/specials/montagne_afghanistan/> - including
analysis of the warlords problem, the problem with the Taliban and the
religious authorities, and the cultural barriers on the road to
democracy.
Afghanland.com: History
< http://www.afghanland.com/history/history.html> - a collection of
links/articles, including regarding the Taliban, and the other forces.
Opinions
-----------
Please note that the opinions expressed in most of these links are
biased, but might be important for your analysis.
Meena Nanji, ?Democracy in Afghanistan??. www.countercurrents.org , 25
February, 2004, < http://www.countercurrents.org/afghan-nanji250204.htm>
Building democracy, Columbus Dispatch, January 09, 2006
< http://www.mlive.com/news/sanews/index.ssf?/base/news-1/1136820033244910.xml&coll=9>
VOA: Afghanistan in 2006 ? Editorial Reflecting the Views of the
United States Government
< http://www.voanews.com/uspolicy/2006-01-06-voa3.cfm>
Afghanistan: Democracy in Name Only (Nur al-Cubicle Blog, August 2005)
< http://nuralcubicle.blogspot.com/2005/08/afghanistan-democracy-in-name-only.html>
SHARON SMITH, ?Afghanistan's rigged democracy? International Socialist
Review, July?August 2002 <
http://www.isreview.org/issues/24/rigged_democracy.shtml>
Nazif Shahrani, ?Afghanistan's Presidential Elections: Spreading
Democracy or a Sham??, Middle East Report Online, October 8, 2004, <
http://www.merip.org/mero/mero100804.html>
I hope this answers your question. Please contact me if you need any
clarification on this answer before you rate it. |
