Afghanistan and Israel Begin 'Power-Sharing' Experiment

Taliban Negotiations and COVID-19 Response: Attempts at Power Sharing in Crisis Situations
Concerns Over Internal Stability vs. Conflicts Over Authority Between Both Sides

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] Despite facing major challenges such as responding to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) and peace talks with the Taliban, Israel and Afghanistan, both of which were in political turmoil, have each proposed power-sharing as a solution. Attention is focused on whether the two countries, which had been unable to resolve political deadlock despite numerous pressing issues, can address their immediate challenges through power sharing.

[Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

On the 17th (local time), the Afghan government announced that President Ashraf Ghani and former Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah had agreed to share power. According to this agreement, President Ghani will retain the presidency, and Abdullah will be responsible for peace negotiations with the armed rebel group Taliban through the High Council for National Reconciliation. In addition, Abdullah will have the authority to appoint half of the cabinet ministers. The dramatic reconciliation between the two sides, who had clashed over the results of this year's presidential election, has increased the possibility of peace talks with the Taliban.

President Ghani and Abdullah clashed over the results of the presidential election held in September last year. Because of this, the two sides held presidential inauguration ceremonies in different locations on the same day, creating a bizarre spectacle.

Due to the confrontation between the two sides, the U.S. Afghan peace plan also suffered setbacks. The U.S. announced plans to sign a peace agreement with the Taliban and withdraw troops. For this, peace negotiations between the Afghan government and the Taliban needed to proceed, but negotiations did not progress due to internal problems within the Afghan government and other issues. As a result, the U.S. applied pressure by cutting aid to the Afghan government.

Future negotiations with the Taliban are expected to determine the success or failure of the power-sharing arrangement between the two sides. Initially, the Afghan government and the Taliban planned to open the door to negotiations through prisoner exchange talks, but only differences have been confirmed. Moreover, recent armed clashes around Kabul, the Afghan capital, have further complicated the conflict situation. The Afghan government has ordered a military response against the Taliban in connection with a series of attacks.

It is also questionable whether the long-standing conflict between President Ghani and Abdullah will be easily resolved. Although Abdullah has been given the authority to negotiate with the Taliban, it remains unclear who holds the final approval authority.

Israel, which had experienced political turmoil for one year and five months following the collapse of the coalition government in December 2018, was finally able to form a coalition government on the same day. Israel had fallen into political chaos, holding three general elections within the past year. The turmoil in Israel intensified as no coalition securing a majority emerged in the March general election. Especially with the heightened sense of crisis due to COVID-19 and other factors, the two largest parties, the Likud Party and the Blue and White Party, formed a grand coalition.

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

Based on the agreement between the two sides, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu officially took office as prime minister in the Israeli parliament. Benny Gantz, leader of the Blue and White Party, agreed to serve as Minister of Defense. According to the power-sharing agreement, Minister Gantz will assume the prime ministership after 18 months. The two sides divided the authority to appoint cabinet ministers and granted each other veto power over the other's policies.

According to the agreement, both the Likud Party and the Blue and White Party hold the right to appoint ministers and exercise veto power over government decisions.

Although the government formation was successful, risks remain. Prime Minister Netanyahu is currently facing prosecution and must undergo trial, and the Likud Party also had disagreements over ministerial appointments. Above all, there are concerns that political turmoil could recur amid the worsening economic situation caused by COVID-19. Since both the Likud Party and the Blue and White Party hold veto power, government policies that are not agreed upon by both sides are unlikely to be implemented.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.