In the past few years where Afghanistan has gained some impressive achievements at the same time the country still remains amongst the list of world’s poorest countries. Not only the poorest, in fact Afghanistan has been considered as the second worst corrupted country of the world due to the rule incompetent government who is unable to make decisions on its own and in the right path. The country has suffered from destruction, war and terrorism since a decade due to the hold of Taliban who shattered every nook and corner of the country to the worst extent. But since the elimination of mujahedeen groups and Taliban, ongoing progress has been accumulated with regards to security, identity and economy of the country. Due to international presence within the country, Afghanistan has been able to bring about successful changes to its economic development.
Yon (2008) describes in his article;
This is a land of paradox. The people here are friendly and hospitable, violent and suspicious. The war effort enjoys broad support, yet our alliance is unraveling. The Taliban are widely despised and yet certain elements of it are integral parts of the Afghan society. People want the national government to succeed yet they have little or no faith in it.
Although, these achievements need to be maintained but a sense of drifting apart has been growing among the international bodies and the Afghan public. This is because foreign activities within the region have deteriorated the economic growth and development of the country. Furthermore, absence of law enforcement and poor governance has lead to inequalities all across Afghanistan. It is required to bring this country back on track and in order to do so there is essential requirement of foreign forces to deal with the current situation and bring about appropriate changes.
The lack of economic assistance and insurgency of poor security system has hindered a lot in the state-building of different regions of Afghanistan. According to the UN office about Drugs and Crime lack of governance and poor presence of law has lead to increased amount of poppy production in Afghanistan there is an urgent need of implementing security protection and alternative agricultural production ventures to be launched in order to reduce poppy production. In order to eradicate all the current problems related to terrorist activities, poppy production and other security, identity and economic problems there is need of international assistance that can align Afghans into the right direction. The security situation of the country needs to be normalized so that meaningful parliamentary and presidential elections can be held within the country.
Theoretical Approach
There are four international relations theoretical approaches that can help define the role of international institutions in maintaining peace and order in Afghanistan. According to neo-realists, law and order is directly linked to the structure of a country whereas realists assume that institutions have to play a certain specific role in order to promote law and order in a country. Then comes the neo-liberals who argue that institutions need to play an independent role in order to bring about relevant changes and lastly constructivists who completely ignore structure and argue that cooperation is the key to successful international relations. Different theoretical approaches would bring about different results but at the moment, it is recommendable that a combination of different theoretical approaches should be applied within Afghanistan.
Choudhry (2010) argues that there is the presence of legal pluralism in Afghanistan at the moment, according to him,”Establishing a functional/functional legal system in Afghanistan will take many years. Doing justice to this slow process requires that all conceptual postulates be brought to the table.”
For the current Afghanistan scenario a combination of realist and neo-realist theoretical approach would be the most suitable one. According to Charles and Gegley (2008) today’s world politics is kind of essential and unchangeable struggle among different states that have self interests with regards to position and power under anarchy. As far as neo-realist approach is concerned it theoretically accounts for the state’s behavior determined by differences among different state powers within a certain global hierarchy and usually defined by the appropriate distribution of the military power. Neo-realists mostly focus on international or foreign policies rather than domestic ones.
In order to respond to the current security, identity and economic problems in Afghanistan, US administration can use military power to resolves terrorism and other security issues in the country. A combination of realist and neo-realist theory is the best response to the current problems being faced by Afghanistan. There is a need of military response along with some economic incentives which can bring Afghan economy back on track. Without the combination of these two approaches, the country might struggle to fulfill the current security. economy and identity issues that it is dealing with.
Moreover, if United States is able to use a bit of diplomacy at the same time, then it is most likely that the problem of extremism can be completely resolved because the use of military force alone will not benefit Afghanistan in the long run and at the same time it would not help United States either, instead of solving problems it may cause more problems for both nations. . It is a fact that with the sole use of military force the current problem of security could be solved in the country but may adversely harm global security. Therefore it is extremely vital for United States to take appropriate measures and apply a mixture of diplomacy and power to the Afghan nation to change the current crisis situation in the respective country. Also, United States requires a lot of support from other nations and to do that a diplomatic behavior is desirable.
Security
According to Mackey (2009) Afghanistan’s security has undergone a lot of progress in the recent years but still there is need for some more effective strategies to eradicate terrorist activities completely from the country. Taliban may have been eliminated from the region but still there are traces of terrorist and insurgent activities in the country. Although there is need for military action but this action needs to be carried out in an intelligent way. Because if military action is operated on its own it can be the case where instead of helping Afghan people may rebel to the whole situation and they might not cooperate with the US government.
Continued military involvement in Afghanistan can appear alarming to other international nations therefore a combination of military action, economic incentives, diplomatic approach and cooperation of international organizations is essentially required. United States cannot afford to lose the world support as otherwise operation in Afghanistan would remain incomplete. In order to improve security, the Afghan government can be given the following suggestions;
1) The Afghanistan government needs to be completely reformed in order to reduce corruption and other wrong doings. A new government and new system is an essential requirement.
2) Steps should be taken to improve tribal relations to avoid conflicts and attain peace in the region.
3) Proposals should be made to develop international relations in order to promote Afghanistan as a stable country.
4) Local police and other security agencies need to be provided with more intensive training with the help of NATO and other international organizations.
Apart from these suggestions, there is an immense need to establish rule of law within the country. At the moment there is lack of support and coordination among different security sectors operating in Afghanistan. Moreover, there is no clear communication between the country government and different tribal areas within the country. It is required to bridge all the gaps and build clear rule of law at all provincial and district levels. Afghanistan requires lot of support and security assistance from the international community so that it can become a more stabilized and self dependant in terms of country’s security.
Economy
According to the Lietenstein Colloquim Report (2008), at the moment, growing and cultivating poppies is the main economic gain of Afghanistan. Due to lack of security, Afghan farmers are forced to become a part of illegal activities taking place within the country. Moreover, due too deteriorating and incompetent governance Afghanistan is considered as the second most corrupted countries. There is a string need of re-electing the government to give Afghanistan a fresh new start. In order to boost Afghan economy international bodies like World Bank need to intervene and fund the country’s budget so that the country can implement development plan leading from province to province. There is strong need of foreign presence within the country in order to make sure that all the funding is spent appropriately among the different sectors.
International forces are required to be present within the country in order to train Afghan forces so that the economy is able to remain stabilized for a longer period of time. There is strong need to stop poppy production and give farmers other means of cultivation and growing other crops. Use of military force can eradicate terrorist groups and smugglers from harassing farmers and hence production and growth of poppies can be eliminated. Regional, national and international cooperation is required to build a democratic country free of violence, terrorism, drugs trade and extremism.
Apart from the agricultural sector, there is need to improve the growth rate of other sectors like; industrial, manufacturing and technology. With the help of foreign aid and investments other sectors can also be given boost and Afghanistan can reach economic stability. If other sectors are promoted then it can be the case where employment opportunities could be increased which would ultimately benefit Afghan economy in the long run. Again, combination of military force, economic incentives, cooperation of international organizations and NGOs can bring about growth and development of Afghan economy in a better way. If the country’s government is unable to cooperate with different international communities and organizations then it would become difficult to achieve a sustainable rate of growth.
Identity
The two key components of Afghanistan’s identity include differences between ethnic groups and differences in religious doctrine. The problem of ethnic repression has remained inside Afghanistan for a very long time. There are ethnic minorities that are excluded from participating in political, economical and social aspects of the country. At the same time, threats related to religion and dignity has continued to become strong due to lack of proper security measures and incompetent government leadership.
Outbreaks of violence in the country are regarded as response of the local people who think foreign intervention is a religious threat to their country. Threats to dignity, ethnic repression and religion have become a daily norm in Afghanistan. These threats to Afghan identity have oppressed people to participate fully in developing economic and social structure of their country. Due to lack of education, unemployment and increase in poverty, many Afghan men were forced to take up arms in order to survive within their own country. There is an immediate need of re-building different sectors of the country and development of strong and legitimate government that is able to bring balance among differences in ethnic and religious beliefs.
With the help of foreign intervention, a stable Afghan government can be introduced that will make effort and potentially contribute to the reconstruction of Afghanistan in a positive manner. International organizations and NGOs can contribute well in order to bring ethnic and religious peace within the country. There is a need of uniting different Afghan groups together and educating them to respect their own religion, values and ethnicity as well as respecting others religion, value and ethnicity.
With the emergence of qualitative changes and bringing reconciliation among different societal levels the whole look of Afghanistan can be transformed. The problem of communication between different tribal areas and the government bodies need to be solved and it is required to organize educational workshops with regards to mutual cooperation and peace. The international bodies, organizations and NGOs need to work hand in hand with Afghan government to bring positive changes to the identity threats posed by the country.
Religious teachings have largely influenced the lives of almost every single Afghan, although being religious is not a problem but to interpret religious values in a wrong way and to focus solely on religion giving no importance to schooling has lead Afghans to live a backward life. The whole Afghan community needs to be revamped and proper education system needs to be operated in every nook and corner of Afghanistan and this can done with the help of international educational bodies and NGOs.
Conclusion and Recommendation
Although Afghanistan has build a strong image in the recent years but still there is a lot to be done in order to accomplish more with regards to stabilizing the current political, economical and security standing of the country. The main aim of United States and other international countries and groups is to eliminate the terrorist activities taking place in Afghanistan completely. Because any terrorist group if left free to operate in Afghanistan, would ultimately pose a threat to the whole world community therefore, with the intervention of military force equipped with diplomatic strategy, United States can work towards the elimination of terrorist groups working inside Afghanistan.
Moreover, it can be recommended that with the help of international funding, the agricultural production of the country can be transformed from solely poppy growers to farmers growing other crops like; wheat, rice and other fruits and vegetables. A severe ban should be placed upon the production of drugs and farmers should be given protection against threats that they receive from drug smugglers or extremist groups to carry on with the production of poppies. Moreover, there is a need of thoroughly educating Afghan people to follow their religious beliefs in a peaceful manner without getting involved in any sort of violent and extreme religious activities. There is a need of cooperating with religious scholars who can teach Afghans about their won religious beliefs and can persuade them to stay away from violent activities.
A combination of different international relation theoretical approaches is required to tackle the current situation faced by Afghanistan. A combination of realist and neo-realist approach would contribute to tackle terror activities taking place in the country by implementing military force. Moreover, strict ban on poppy production with the help of force can persuade farmers to implement other means of agricultural production. In order to accomplish long term goals with regards to Afghanistan the United States need to build and restructure the whole nation. It can be recommended that;
Afghans should be pushed and persuaded to bring about developmental initiatives on different levels. International organizations can contribute to develop different sectors within the country.
There is an immediate need to build the economy of Afghanistan and for that planning, reforming and electing a new government is required. And to make sure corruption and bad governance cycles doesn’t repeat again, the new government should operate under international presence to eliminate any danger of further insurgent activities within the country.
Acknowledge the need of and implement the presence of international community within the country to direct you Afghans into the right path. Formulate development plans for them which they can follow and build Afghan economy.
Establishment of educational institutes and other training institutes in order to promote education and employment, and eliminate extremist groups and their training camps.
These are a few recommendations to achieve security, identity and economy scenario in Afghanistan. With regards to the tools that can be used to achieve these problems, it can be said that the problem of security can be solved with the help of military force and at the same time there is requirement of diplomatic policy just to make sure that the military operation does not spark more hatred among the Afghan people with regards to international intervention within their country.
With regards to economy of Afghanistan, there is a need of using a combination of economic incentives and persuading national and international bodies to invest within the country to promote growth and development of Afghan economy and at the same time eliminate any possibilities of corruption and illegitimate actions taken by the government that may deteriorate the economic growth and development of the country. There is a strong need to promote other sectors of the economy instead of just relying on agricultural production. Industrial and manufacturing sectors need to be promoted in order to cast Afghan nation among developing countries rather than poor or corrupted country.
Lastly, the problem of Afghan identity can be resolved by eliminating any differences with regards to religion, dignity and ethnic repression. Everyone should be given equal rights to participate in political, social and economic aspects of the country. No specific group or religious territory should be given preference and there should be an equality system running through every region to disperse any differences if present. Moreover with the help of international organizations, NGOs and a bit of military force the problem of religious extremism can be resolved and people can be educated with regards to respecting each other’s religious values and ethnicity. The best way to eliminate extremist and violent religious activities is by educating people about what is wrong and what is right.
References
Nafay Choudhry . 2010. Legal pluralism in Afghanistan revisited: from theory to practice. Legal Frontiers. Retrieved from http://www.legalfrontiers.ca/2010/03/legal-pluralism-in-afghanistan-revisited-from-theory-to-pratice/.
W.Charles and JR Kegley. 2008. World politics: Trends and Transformation. USA: Wordsworth Cengage Learning.
Lietenstein Colloquim Report. 2008. State, security and economy in Afghanistan. Volume III. Retrieved from: http://www.princeton.edu/~lisd/publications/afgh2008_lcm3.pdf
Creative Associated International. n.d. Afghanistan: an introduction to sources and nature of conflict. retrieved from http://www.creativeassociatesinternational.com/caiistaff/dashboard_giroadmincaiistaff/dashboard_caiiadmindatabase/publications/An%20Introduction%20to%20the%20Sources%20and%20Nature%20of%20Conflict.pdf
AbuKhalil, Asad. 2002. Bin Laden, islam and America’s new war on terrorism. New York: Seven Stories Press.
Michael Yon. 2008. The Afghanistan paradox. Retrieved from: http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/afghanistan-paradox-article-1.301014
Robert Mackey. 2009. ‘Just war’ theory and Afghanistan. Retrieved from: http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/10/just-war-theory-and-afghanistan/
