Governance News

Corruption. Sarah Chayes, a long-time resident of Afghanistan, is interviewed about her thoughts of corruption and how it ties to insurgencies and instability. Chayes entered Afghanistan shortly after the invasion of Afghanistan by the U.S. as a journalist. She soon transitioned to assisting Afghan women in starting up small enterprises in the Kandahar region. She became quickly became one of the more knowledgeable westerners in Afghanistan and ended up as an advisor to more than one U.S. general officer. One of her constant themes is how the U.S. didn't get a handle on the corruption in Afghanistan. Read more in "Interview - Sarah Chayes", E-International Relations, September 30, 2015.

NUG - One Year On. The National Unity Government (NUG) had its one-year anniversary this past week. While many observers point to success others point out the many failures. The taking of Kunduz City - the capital of Kunduz province - by the Taliban was not an indicator of the ability of the NUG to provide for better security. However, one observers seems to think the glass is half full. Read Tamim Asey in "NUG One Year On: Success", Foreign Policy, September 29, 2015.

Electoral Reform. Chayanika Saxena provides us with background on the continuing drama of reforming Afghanistan's electoral process in "The Promise of Ballot: Electoral Reforms in Afghanistan", Eurasia Review, October 2, 2015.

An Afghan Hotline for Corruption. A recently established hotline set up by the Afghan civil society organization Integrity Watch Afghanistan aims to combat Afghanistan's status as the fourth most corrupt country in the world. The hotline, known as the Whistleblower,  has received 7,000 calls since its inception three months ago. Over 750 of the complaints have been published anonymously on the organizations website. Read more in "Afghans Fight Corruption with a Hotline", Gandhara Blog, October 2, 2015.