Sharif Hozoori, IIE-SRF fellow and visiting scholar at the Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies' South Asia Program will discuss his research about the failure of liberal democracy in Afghanistan due to the ruling elite's overt ethnocentrism.

Ethnocentrism has been present throughout Afghanistan's political history, but it peaked during President Ashraf Ghani's tenure after the establishment of a democratic regime in 2001. Ghani enacted policies that concentrated power around three individuals: himself, the national security advisor, and the Director General of the administrative office of the President, essentially creating a "Republic of Three Persons" or a "sinister triangle" in Afghanistan. These actions had a profoundly catastrophic effect on the evolution of democratic governance in the country.

About the Speaker

Sharif Hozoori holds a Ph.D. in International Relations from the Center for International Politics, Organization, and Disarmament in the School of International Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi. He was a professor of International Relations and taught both undergraduate and graduate students in Afghanistan before leaving the country after the Taliban takeover in August 2021. Currently, he is an IIE-SRF fellow and visiting scholar at the Einaudi Center's South Asia Program at Cornell University. His research areas are Afghanistan politics and foreign policy, identity politics, South Asia and Middle East politics, cultural studies, and conflict resolution and peace.

Host

Judith Reppy Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies

Cosponsor

South Asia Program