The power politics of the US and its partners in introducing Western democracy into Afghan society

Abstract

The subject of the study is the power policy of the United States and its allies in the fight against international terrorist organisations in Afghanistan, aimed at building a new Afghan society based on the principles of Western democracy. The research focuses on the processes of democratisation, which were implemented in three stages in 2001-2014. The article also describes important events related to democratization – the creation of a political system in Afghanistan loyal to the United States and its allies; the holding of the first presidential and parliamentary elections; the formation of political opposition from different strata of Afghan society; the holding of the second presidential and parliamentary elections in the said country; the development of the political process against the background of the withdrawal of the main foreign contingent in 2014. The author analyses the miscalculations and serious failures of the administration of the United States and NATO related to the formation of a new government of Afghanistan, the organisation of presidential and parliamentary elections, economic recovery, training for Afghan law enforcement agencies and security. The assessment of the actions of the United States related to the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan during the period most dramatic for the population of the country is given. This article is an analysis of the processes of democratisation of Afghan society, revealing individual aspects of each stage carried out within the framework of the military operation of the United States and its allies in Afghanistan. The main conclusion of the study is that the United States and its partners have failed to achieve their goals of building an Afghan society based on Western democratic values.