Corruption In Afghanistan Essay

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informal system of government that many of the local areas of Afghanistan employ. This causes warlords and groups like the Taliban and al Qaeda to gain power and can contribute to continued conflict within the state.
Next, high levels of corruption in a state is crippling to all aspects of governance. Corruption undermines both the capacity to deliver services and the legitimacy of the state in the eyes of citizens and international actors. Corruption such as nepotism and cronyism also decreases participation as citizens become frustrated with the offices of government. The corruption that lower-level Afghan officials participate in gives citizens an impression that the central government is “predatory.” Corruption such as requiring bribes …show more content…

In addition to being a contributing factor to high levels of corruption, the low rule of law has other effects in Afghanistan. Katzman describes the phenomenon of the judicial process in Afghanistan:
There is broad agreement among outside observers that the Afghan judicial system remains weak and its independence is questionable. Judges and prosecutors are frequent targets of assassination, particular in insecure areas of Afghanistan. And justice is often subjective, with powerful factions and wealthy individuals often able to obtain the release from jail or non-prosecution of their members and supporters. (2015, p. 11)
Further, many of the judicial processes in Afghanistan remain informal. Often the trials are based on sharia law instead of the law of Afghanistan. The lack of a uniform judiciary throughout the country means that not all citizens of Afghanistan must follow the laws. This further exacerbates the problem the government in Kabul has with lack of legitimacy. The low rule of law also undermines the capacity of the government to deliver justice which can leave citizens frustrated at what they view as a weak and unjust …show more content…

For instance, it is incredibly difficult to build an economy in a state that is not unified. Having no clear-cut, enforceable system of taxes has the effects of a central government without much capacity and essentially no ability to provide services. A weak central government means that individual groups can monopolize resources and any wealth generated benefits very few citizens. Further, in Afghanistan, a nation with large untapped resource wealth, a weak central government provides little incentive to unlock those resources and harness the intrinsic economic

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