Afghanistan Analysts Network – English

Month: September 2010

2010 Elections 1: Facts and Figures

Fabrizio Foschini •

With less than a week left before 18 September, we would like to summarize the major facts and figures that relate to the upcoming parliamentary election. The total number of candidates standing in this year’s election is 2502. The number of candidates whose names appeared on the 34 final provincial candidates list (plus one for […]

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[Taleban] Ban on excessive marriage costs proves popular among young men

admin •

IWPR, 12 September 2010 Two months ago, the Taleban in Tagab district of Kapisa have imposed a new rule that bride-prices should not exceed 3,800 US dollars and it goes down well with the locals. They also banned other costly practices surrounding marriage, including one known locally as ‘takbir’ where up to 50 people visit […]

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For once, Afghans turn against Taliban

admin •

Denver Post, 12 September 2010 In a rare show of popular resistance, residents of the Nejrab district of Kapisa province have driven the Taleban out of their area after growing tired of them interfering in reconstruction work, reports the daily based on a report by Kabul-based IWPR.

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Losing people in Afghanistan

Martine van Bijlert •

Living in Afghanistan means losing people. It’s a steady trickle. Usually not close enough to uproot your life, but there are all these people whom you have gotten to know over the years, whom you have become fond of, who you have to admire for how they managed to preserve sanity and dignity and humour, […]

War and Peace Read more

11 September 2010 – New AAN Report ‘Who Controls the Vote? Afghanistan’s Evolving Elections’

AAN • admin •

A new report by AAN takes a close look at last year’s provincial council vote, in order to better understand how the upcoming parliamentary elections will probably proceed. You can download the report here. Also released on 10 September 2010: ‘Afghanistan’s 2010 Parliamentary Election: Missed Chances for Electoral Reform and Political Manoeuvering Will Weaken the New […]

Events Read more

Afghanistans Parlamentswahl 2010: Verpasste Wahlrechtsreformen und politische Manöver schwächen neues Parlament

Citha D Maas •

Citha D. Maass and Thomas Ruttig: Afghanistan’s 2010 Parliamentary Vote – Missed Chances for Electoral Reform and Political Manoeuvring Weaken the New Parliament, SWP-Aktuell 2010/A 66, September 2010 An analysis (in German) of the situation before the 18 September Afghan parliamentary vote, of missed chances for election reform and a resulting weak judicial framework for […]

External publications Read more

Talking Dari (1): The Road to Turkestan

Thomas Ruttig •

Today, we continue our little series with important Afghan-language expressions that are useful to describe political situations in striking accuracy. This time we turn to one of the most famous Iranian poets – so actually we also could say ‘Talking Farsi’ here. But let’s not be too nitty-gritty. ترسم نرسی به کعبه ای اعرابی کین ره […]

Context and Culture Read more

Whistleblower Claims Many U.S. Interpreters Can’t Speak Afghan Languages

admin •

ABC, 8 September 2010 A journalist who was embedded with US troops and took a film recalls here: ‘At one stage you can see in the film where the elder talks about the Taliban coming into the village and the fact that the villagers are helpless to do anything about it. And the translator essentially […]

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Campaign Trail 8: A multipolar election in the Afghan West 2

Fabrizio Foschini •

The second part of an analysis on elections in Herat province mainly deals with how candidates campaign and their worries about the increased insecurity as well as possibilities of fraud in the upcoming elections. AAN analyst Fabrizio Foschini tried to gather their opinions and confront them with reported facts. One candidate still considered to be […]

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Campaign Trail 8: A multipolar election in the Afghan West 1

Fabrizio Foschini •

Herat is the second largest province of the country and the most populous after the capital. Its importance is reflected in the considerable number of parliamentary seats it is allocated, 17, and the outcome of the forthcoming elections will thus significantly contribute to defining the new parliament’s outlook. Through interviews with candidates, officials and other […]

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Organisationsstrukturen der Taliban (Organisational Structures of the [Afghan] Taleban)

Thomas Ruttig •

Thomas Ruttig, in: Wer sind die Taliban? Afghanistan und Pakistan im Regionalkonflikt, epd-Dokumentation Nr. 27-28, Frankfurt am Main Summary of a presentation given at a symposium in Bonn on 26 March 2010. Documentation not available online but can be ordered (€ 7.90), using this link.

External publications Read more

Guest Blog: Why the West should care about Afghan election fraud

Scott Warden •

There is a strange detachment of international actors in Kabul when it comes to the parliamentary elections here in just under two weeks’ time. Our guest author Scott Warden(*) calls it a ‘see no evil, speak no evil’ approach. He asks what the consequences of another flawed election will be and advocates a ‘strict scrutiny […]

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