Challenges and solutions for the local government system in Afghanistan: Kabul case

The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, consisting of 34 provinces, 387 districts, and thousands of villages in Central Asia, has more than 5000 years of history. It is a geostrategically important country with its location and natural resources. In the historical process, the foreign interventions of various countries in Afghanistan as well as the civil war and internal migration that have lasted for thirty years, have damaged the country's infrastructure, political, legal, economic, and administrative systems, especially the capital of Afghanistan. One of the systems affected by foreign interventions and civil wars has been the local government system in Afghanistan. The administrative system in Afghanistan is divided into two types: central and local governments. Local government units include provinces, districts, villages, and municipalities. In this research, the problems in the local administration system in Afghanistan and the solutions to these problems will be presented with an example of Kabul City, the capital of Afghanistan, which has a population of six million. Compared to other provinces, Kabul is a city that has been the destination for most refugees in recent years, especially due to the wars in Afghanistan. There are many problems in Kabul, the problems related to urban service to ensuring local democracy, the inadequacy of financial resources, personnel, inspection, and legal and institutional structuring. While these problems at the local level are presented in this research, the historical, political, economic, and administrative reasons behind the problems will also be discussed. Solving the problems of municipalities in Kabul City requires a strong municipal management system. For this, there is a need for multidimensional reforms in the country and in the city. Some of these are the determination of task sharing between the central and local units of the urban transformation to be made in Kabul, ensuring coordination and cooperation, strengthening financial resources, adopting the standards of merit in appointments, and eliminating corruption. The research findings show that, despite some reforms made in the historical process, the problems in the municipal administration in Afghanistan continue. In this context, the thesis aims to critically examine the reform studies carried out in the historical process for the problems of municipalities through the example of the capital city of Kabul and to develop policy proposals to solve existing problems. This research uses the qualitative research method to achieve research objectives efficiently. Qualitative data can be books, articles, policy documents, etc. collected from primary and secondary sources. Keywords: Afghanistan, Municipality, Kabul, Local Governments, Reform