Political networks and the 2014 Afghan presidential election: power restructuring, ethnicity and state stability

Abstract

This article examines power dynamics in political groupings during the 2014 Afghanistan presidential election and assesses the impact on political stability and order. The focus is the power dynamics of local political-economic and identity networks that have come to underpin and constitute the state in post-2001 international state-building. The article first seeks to understand how the complex relationships between the two leading presidential candidates, Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah, and key powerbrokers were negotiated and subsequently influenced electoral outcomes. Second, focusing on negotiations over the appointment of the Cabinet ministers, advisers and staff, and governors, the study maps the restructuring of political networks within the Afghan state. The analysis reveals the impact of the election on the redistribution of power and resources, and the consequences for political order and state stability in the post-2014 period.