Governance News - Afghanistan

Decentralization Needed. A recent article proposes that a ". . . centralized political system in Afghanistan only intensifies the competition for power and increases the cost of holding the country together." The Obama administration tried to use the Afghan presidential elections of 2014 to re-enforce political legitimacy of the central government . . . however, the National Unity Government has been a failure thus far. Read "In Order for Afghanistan to Succeed, America Must Let it Decentralize", The National Interest, September 7, 2017.

Ghani - Trump Meeting. President Ghani recently made a trip to the United States where he met with President Trump and addressed the United Nations. The White House issued a statement on the meeting. Seems its all about rare earth minerals! Read the 'readout' of the meeting (White House, Sep 22, 2017). One of the topics discussed during the meeting was the closure of the Taliban's diplomatic mission that is maintained in Qatar. See "Trump pushing Afghan president to close Taliban office in Qatar", The Guardian, September 26, 2017.

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