Constitutional Issues in the Afghan Peace Negotiations: Process and Substance

This report highlights the constitutional challenges ahead of the ongoing peace negotiation in Doha, Qatar. The author provides an abstract view of the constitutional changes that have occurred since 1973. It draws upon the structural combination of the peace negotiation team from both sides, the government and the Taliban. It also explains the ethnic and tribal composition of the Taliban along with the formation of the past constitutions in comparison with the Taliban doctrine. Rubin argues that the centralized government system is not imposed by the US over a “traditional decentralized” Afghanistan, but it was first established in the 19th century by Amir Abdul Rahman Khan. He preserves the ethno-nationalistic centralized ruling structure of both the Afghan government and the Taliban. The author underlines the likely blended Islamic version of a new constitution that the peace negotiation may confront.