Afghan election, 2014

[njwes]

An update courtesy of the NYTimes

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/27/world/asia/afghanistan-elections.html

I don't know enough about the electoral process in Afghanistan to have a legitimitely informed opinion, but it does sound like good news. We'll see.

Still not convinced Afghanistan has anything but but authoritarianism of one stripe or another in its future. But I'd find it ironic if these elections went off better than the ones in Iraq a few days from now.

Also, there're some results by province available if anyone with map-making skills feels the urge

[njwes]

I really hope Abdullah wins, just because it'd be hilarious to hear the news media frequently mention a guy whose first and last name are identical.

Hadn't thought about that. To my ears at least Abdullah Abdullah is harder than Sirhan Sirhan in a fast-moving news broadcast; expect a lot of broadcaster verbal flubs, though not near Eyjafjallajökull levels.

AA's conduct thus far and the breakdown of the results thus far is pretty fascinating. Obvious ethnic/tribal division, though hopelessly so. I truly hope the second round can go through without any 2009-style hijinks.

I haven't read much of the literature in the field for several years now, but I do wonder how the developments in Iraq and Afghanistan (and of course Arab Spring countries) have affected the academic study of democratic transitions.

[njwes]

Gracias!