Correction appended
As part of the United States' long-term policy of fostering "effective and responsive governance" in Afghanistan, government professor John Carey spent a portion of March consulting with Afghan government officials and civil leaders on parliamentary electoral reform, according to Benjamin Barry, a foreign service officer at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul. Carey was hired by the U.S. State Department to act as a mediator between Afghan interest groups as the nation prepares for its upcoming elections.
Carey met with members of Wolesi Jirga the lower house of parliament, or "the House of the People" and political and civil society leaders to discuss goals for change and share his expertise in electoral system reforms in democratic countries.
"Most of the Afghan politicians involved in this don't necessarily have really broad knowledge about how elections work around the world," Carey said. "Without necessarily telling them what I thought they should do, I was able to at least bring some information about other experiences about what's worthwhile and what's worked less well."
Afghan and American leaders hope to achieve electoral reform to rid the system of flaws as Afghanistan prepares for its 2014 presidential elections and 2015 parliamentary elections.
Carey said he was concerned that Afghan President Hamid Karzai may run for a third term despite the nation's constitutional restrictions to two-term presidencies.
Karzai and representatives of the executive branch were absent from the discussions Carey led with Afghan leaders, he said.
"For me, that is the big question mark," he said. "It is very difficult to get things done in Afghan politics without the executive branch on board."
Carey said Karzai has been "more of an obstacle than an advocate" for the types of electoral reforms being debated by other political leaders and civil groups.
Differences abound and consensus is difficult even among those who advocate for reform, Carey said.
"The project was to go and help Afghan politicians and other actors to talk about and reach some sort of consensus on electoral reform," he said. "We didn't get anywhere close to consensus."
By engaging in open discussion about ideas for reform, groups can find overlapping interests to start the process of implementation, Carey said.
Following conversations with Afghan leaders, Carey spoke with members of the U.S. State Department and the U.S. Embassy in Kabul to facilitate communication between the nation's leaders.
"My take is that the U.S, government before it withdraws to a greater extent wanted to make one more effort to encourage the Afghans to reform that electoral system to the parliament," Carey said.
Because legitimate electoral systems are vital to voting and democracy, Carey's "insight" on reforming electoral systems is valuable for emerging democracies, according to government professor Jeremy Horowitz.
During Carey's stay in Afghanistan, a volatile political situation arose when American Army Staff Sgt. Robert Bales shot and killed 16 Afghan civilians and an assassination attempt was made on Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta.
These circumstances and resulting security issues in Afghanistan were an obstacle for Carey, whose trip to the Ghazni province in southeast Afghanistan was canceled after the military closed air traffic, he said.
"I was relieved to leave when I did, not because I had finished my job and the system was on its way to reform, but mainly because of the security situation," Carey said.
Carey said that issues of "physical security" eclipse the need for electoral reform and will likely take precedent over reform efforts.
"It will be a long time before it's clear whether or not there is going to be electoral reform in Afghanistan," he said. "There are so many challenges to governance in Afghanistan that are so much bigger and more existential than if they get their electoral law for the parliament."
On March 29, Carey presented his findings at the National Endowment for Democracy in Washington, D.C. Attendees of the presentation included leaders from government agencies, including the State Department and United States Agency for International Development, as well as think tanks, democracy promotion organizations and universities.
In addition to his work in Afghanistan, Carey is currently studying legislative transparency across nations by comparing their legislative processes, according Christian Sherrill '13, a presidential scholar working with Carey on the project and who compiled data for Carey's March presentation.
"I am principally interested in learning how governments work and learning how people can protect themselves against their governments to the point that governments are truly public serving," Sherrill said. "I think that's really the purpose of [Carey's] projects as well."
While Carey previously concentrated on legislative electoral reform in Latin American countries, recent stabilization of Latin American democratization efforts encouraged him to shift his focus to the Middle East and North Africa, where the Arab Spring offers opportunities for budding democracies, he said.
In 2011 and 2012, Carey co-authored a number of articles about election systems in the Middle Eastern and North African countries and enumerated the criteria for evaluating democratic election systems: inclusiveness, minimal distortion of the balance of party power, incentives to build coalitions, individual accountability and simplicity.
