Rural Afghanistan: Where Bribes are the Cost for Public Services

Afghan society is one of the most corrupt in the world. Corruption in Afghanistan is found at all levels of society and government. No sector is untouched by corruption. Corruption is also prevalent in the rural areas of Afghanistan. Counterinsurgency experts will tell you that without the support of the population a government will be hard pressed to win against an insurgency. In a nation like Afghanistan, a country fighting insurgents, it is particularly important that government civil servants appear legitimate and provide services. When these government services are rendered only to those who can afford a bribe to obtain them then support for the local and central government erodes considerably. This lack of support for the government, in part caused by rampart corruption at the district and provincial level, makes it extremely unlikely that the central government will enjoy any large measure of support in rural Afghanistan. Thus ensuring that the insurgency survives over the long-term. Read more on this topic in "Addressing an Ignored Imperative: Rural Corruption in Afghanistan", by T.S. Allen in Small Wars Journal, February 19, 2013.