BOOK
Anthony Corrado and David B. Magleby, January 15, 2010
The latest installment of a series that dates back nearly half a century, Financing the 2008 Election is the definitive analysis of how campaign finance and spending shaped the historic presidential and congressional races of 2008. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Matthew Frankel, November 03, 2009, The Daily Beast
Matthew Frankel compares Abdullah Abdullah's withdrawal from Afghanistan's runoff election to other electoral boycotts over the years. Based on independent research of 100 boycotts since 1990, Frankel concludes that they rarely work and often fracture the party involved. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Michael E. O'Hanlon, October 31, 2009, The Brookings Institution
Michael O'Hanlon discusses Abdullah Abdullah's withdrawal from Afghanistan's presidential election runoff that was scheduled for November 7. O'Hanlon argues that while Afghan President Karzai can now be viewed as legitimate, although tainted, he is hardly out of the woods. Read More
PAST EVENT
Friday, October 09, 2009
9:30 AM to 11:00 AM
Washington, DC
On October 9, the Brookings Institution will host Harvard Public Policy Lecturer Elaine Kamarck for a discussion of her new book, Primary Politics: How Presidential Candidates Have Shaped the Modern Nominating System (Brookings Institution Press, 2009), which explains how the presidential nomination process became the often bewildering system we have today. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Shoichi Itoh, September 14, 2009, The Brookings Institution
Japan’s August 30 general election, in which the long ruling Liberal Democratic Party was swept from power by the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), was a watershed event in that nation’s post-War history, writes CNAPS Visiting Fellow Shoichi Itoh. Will the DPJ’s victory lead to substantial changes in Japan’s policy-making process and outcomes? Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Bruce Riedel, August 27, 2009, YaleGlobal Online
Bruce Riedel writes that Afghanistan’s presidential election could provide a critical update on the progress of the war in that country. He argues the U.S. and NATO appear to have the upper hand given the Taliban's failure to have a major influence on the election, but says questions on the electoral process and regional impact still need to be answered. Read More
PAST EVENT
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
12:30 PM to 1:30 PM
Washington, DC
On August 20, Afghans headed to the polls for the first contested national elections in Afghanistan’s history. On Wednesday, August 26, Brookings expert Michael O’Hanlon returned from a trip to Afghanistan and answered your questions about that country’s presidential election in a live web chat with Fred Barbash, senior editor of Politico. Read More
PAST EVENT
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
3:00 PM to 4:30 PM
Washington, DC
The outcome of Afghanistan's presidential election remains in doubt, but most agree that it doesn't matter who wins as much as how the victory occurs. Brookings hosted a panel of experts, moderated by Martin Indyk, to discuss the outcome of the Afghan election. The panel analyzed the result of the election and examined its impact on the future of the country and the conflict. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Vanda Felbab-Brown, August 19, 2009, Los Angeles Times
The August 20 elections in Afghanistan represent a crucial opportunity to give Afghans a sense of at least some control over their future. Vanda Felbab-Brown examines the leading candidates and argues the international community needs to make it clear to the next Afghan president that assistance is conditioned on improved and accountable governance. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Bruce Riedel, August 19, 2009, The Daily Beast
Seen as a test of the United States’ new strategy in Afghanistan and the Taliban's influence in the country, Bruce Riedel believes the stakes in the August 20 Afghanistan elections are higher than who will be elected president for the next five years. He writes that if the elections are successful, the NATO mission and Afghan government will get a boost of confidence and legitimacy that has been badly needed. Read More
VIDEO
Vanda Felbab-Brown, August 14, 2009
On August 20, Afghanistan holds a presidential election that many observers feel is a critical component of that country's continued fight against Taliban insurgents along a path to stable governance. Vanda Felbab-Brown says the outcome must be seen as legitimate for the future of the country's development and government's legitimacy.
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Jeremy Shapiro, August 13, 2009, The Brookings Institution
Jeremy Shapiro argues pundits should focus more on what the elections in Afghanistan say about the international community than what they mean for the country. He cautions that actions by international actors are often seen from the inside as rigging elections to a pre-determined outcome and concludes that if these efforts to build a democracy fail it may help Afghanistan become a terrorist state once again. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Vanda Felbab-Brown, August 13, 2009, The Brookings Institution
Vanda Felbab-Brown believes the August 20 Afghanistan elections represent a test for at least three critical issues in that country – accountability, military strength and governance. Felbab-Brown argues that ushering in more effective and responsible governance is critical, and she concludes it must be built by Afghan hands rather than forced by international actors. Read More
RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY
Bruce Riedel, August 12, 2009, The Brookings Institution
Bruce Riedel writes that elections in Afghanistan on August 20 are both an opportunity and a challenge for the Taliban and Al-Qaeda. Though statistics have recently been on the Taliban's side, the ability for NATO and the Afghan government to pull off a credible election could be an important initial milestone in turning things around. Read More
VIDEO
Bruce Riedel, August 10, 2009
Afghans voted on August 20 in the second presidential election since the Taliban were ousted by U.S.-led forces in late 2001. Despite a resurgent Taliban, Bruce Riedel says that victory in Afghanistan is attainable and that a clean election is absolutely critical to the legitimacy of the government.