Publication

This paper examines the effect that the nomination process for candidates for Afghanistan's April 5, 2014 presidential elections had on political alignments and alliances in the country. More specifically, the author lays out the state of political alliances prior to the nomination process and then shows how they realigned. The author argues that the realignments were dramatic and that they demonstrate the weaknesses inherent in Afghan mainstream politics, showing a country that lacks the basic democratic structures - such as stable political groupings - that make the formation of a coherent government possible.