WHAT COULD THE FUTURE OF AFGHANISTAN LOOK LIKE?
Many Tajiks are asking for a federalized system in Afghanistan. Here is what speaks for a decentralized government. However, there are also a number of Tajiks (and other ethnicities) that want a partition.
Centralized Government in Afghanistan
The former governments of Afghanistan have been highly centralized. Power was often held in the hands of the ruling elite – which has been predominantly Pashtun – in Kabul, and the people outside Kabul and from non-Pashtun ethnic groups had little influence on the governance of the country. Some think that a centralized government is highly inappropriate for a multicultural society such as Afghanistan and that it has contributed to the conflict and bloodshed plaguing the country for more than 40 years, as the ruling elite has benefitted itself while subjugating the rest of the people of the country.
Federalism in Afghanistan
Many Tajiks and other non-Pashtuns, advocate for the creation of a decentralized, federal Afghanistan government. In such a government, people from different regions in the country can elect their own local leaders but still be united under one national government. This would allow people to rule themselves and prevent one ethnic group to have hegemony of power.
Partition of Afghanistan
There is also a group of Tajiks – and other non-Pashtuns – who are not convinced that all the people of Afghanistan can be united under one government in a way that is inclusionary and peaceful and instead advocate for a partition of Afghanistan into North and South. Those who oppose partition do so on the grounds that the territories of Afghanistan are too ethnically heterogeneous for partition to make sense, and are fearful that partition would lead to more bloodshed and conflict.
For more information, please see:
- https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/southasiasource/afghanistans-future-after-the-taliban-takeover/
- https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/new-atlanticist/ahmad-massoud-look-to-local-leaders-to-save-afghanistan/
- https://www.fairobserver.com/region/central_south_asia/tabish-forugh-atul-singh-afghanistan-taliban-news-afghan-central-asia-world-news-43898/
