2004 Constitution and the Unmaking of the “Republican” Order

Bismellah Alizada

December 5^th marked the 22^nd anniversary of the Agreement on Provisional Arrangements in Afghanistan Pending the Re-Establishment of Permanent Government Institutions that was originally signed in English in Bonn, Germany. Its ambiguities and contradictions aside, the document provided an agreed framework that would lead, in two years, to the adoption of a new constitution. That promise was delivered, almost on time, and set in motion processes for setting up state institutions according to the new configuration, and the presidential as well as parliamentary and provincial council elections, in fall 2004 and fall 2005, respectively.