The Rule of Law in Afghanistan Failed Long Before the Taliban’s Triumph — The Diplomat

Nearly five years after Taliban insurgents toppled the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, calls still ring out for a return to the rule of law. United Nations officials contend that Taliban governance “precipitated the collapse of the rule of law and judicial independence in Afghanistan.” Amnesty International pleads for the Taliban to “reinstate a formal constitutional and legal framework and the rule of law.” The idea that Afghanistan lost the rule of law in 2021 is compelling. It is also a fantasy. The United States, and the international community more broadly, abandoned rule of law in Afghanistan long before the Taliban returned. The U.S.-backed regime that the Taliban defeated was one of the most corrupt states on Earth. And within that regime, police and courts were consistently ranked among the most corrupt parts. For example, a major 2018 survey found “corruption within the local security and justice sector in Afghanistan remains a key driver of insecurity in the country.” The United States’ willingness to not only tolerate but also perpetuate corruption and lawlessness proved essential for the Taliban’s success. What of the U.S. role? Here, too, reality and rhetoric clash. Government officials and outside commentators routinely stress the idea that progress in law and justice was occurring and would have continued. As my recent work in Law & Social Inquiry shows,…