Democracy's Dilemma: The Challenges to State Legitimacy in Afghanistan


By : Daoud Shams
(ISBN: 9781435711013)

 


Those interested in research/teaching within the following disciplines could find this book helpful:
" International Relations - Political Science - Anthropology
" South/Central Asian Studies - Middle Eastern Studies
" Sociology - Democracy and State Building - U.S. Foreign Policy
" Human Rights Issues - War Crimes - Drug Trade - International Security
Description: In Democracy's Dilemma, David Shams argues that warlords' participation in Afghanistan's democracy has undermined the legitimacy of the state. Human rights violations, drug trade and institutional corruption constitute the perimeters of a triangle set by warlords within which the state falls short of the moral authority necessary to assert legitimacy. The dilemma that the state faces is this: On one hand, in order to survive it has to compromise with and appease the warlords; on the other, it struggles to eradicate drugs and uproot corruption. To achieve these objectives, the state has adopted paradoxical policies and taken contradictory measures simultaneously. This in turn, has resulted in ineffectual governance and the weakness of its status as a legitimate body in the eyes of the public.
For more information, please see Google Books: http://books.google.com/books?um=1&q=+%2Bdemocracy%27s+dilemma+%2Bafghanistan
OR
http://books.google.com/books?id=kj2sgEl7PGsC&pg=PP1&dq=%2Bdemocracy%27s+dilemma+%2Bafghanistan&hl=sv&sig=qA28XmAwi-FWQMZEdlSWUff6bv0#PPA1,M1