The dynamics of informal political networks and statehood in post-2001 Afghanistan: a case study of the 2010–2011 Special Election Court crisis

This article focuses on the 2010–2011 Special Election Court crisis, which serves as a microcosm of the broader post-2001 political network dynamics in which opportunistic practices of bargaining and the instrumentalization of identities have emerged as key features of Afghan politics. Post-2001 international state-building has produced a ‘network state’ where the state and political networks have become co-constitutive in state-building. This has produced the democratic façade of a state, underpinned by informal power structures and networks. In light of this analysis, a successful international exit from Afghanistan and post-2014 state survival may depend as much on the political stability of the empowered networks as on the strength of the Afghan National Security Forces and the outcome of the ongoing reconciliation and negotiation with the Taliban.