This essay examines parameters required for establishment of permanent political stability in a nation-state. It argues a country requires consolidation of two fundamental factors to be able to unify its civilian population into an internally cohesive nation-state.

First a country needs a majority culture. It is achieved through a process of cultural unification over the course of its history. Bonds of nationhood are born in this way.

Second a country needs a majority ideology. It is achieved through a process of ideological unification over the course of history of a country. Bonds of Statehood are born in this way. A common system of government is founded on principles of the majority ideology.

Operation of majority ideology and majority culture concurrently provides intellectual foundations of majoritarian politics.

Majoritarian politics creates majority political support for a system of government. This is distinct from popular support for government of the day.

Existence of majority cultural and ideological support for a system of government makes it politically stable. Minorities will integrate into mainstream culture and ideology over successive generations.

Despite changes in politics over successive generations, existence of majority culture and majority ideology ensures majority political support for a common system of government will continue. This provides popular ideological and cultural support to a common system of government. This is architecture of political stability in nation-states.

In such a case, minority population who disagree with majority political opinion is powerless to overthrow majority rule. Civil Government works in this situation. The other point that must be highlighted is importance of order of two stages of unification of a country. There is a correct order that must be followed to secure permanent political stability.

To achieve long-term political stability, correct order of unification must be followed. First cultural unification must be completed then ideological unification should come next. Coherent bonds of nationhood must exist before independent stable statehood can be achieved.

Next I examine histories of a few major nation-states to highlight how achieving unification in correct order has enabled them to be politically stable for the long term.

A brief examination of cultural and ideological history of China and Turkey highlights importance of completing the two unification processes in the correct order.  Mainland China completed its process of cultural unification in third century under the first emperor (Feng, 2007, p. 20). For this reason majority of Mainland Chinese speak the same language, they have a shared understanding of history and they follow the same cultural norms and practices. The cultural uniformity provides social cohesion to the country. Social cohesion is an essential bond of nationhood.

Mainland China completed its process of ideological unification under Communism at completion of Chinese Civil War [1946-1950](Lew, 2009). In this way majority ideology was established. Subsequently a common system of government was established on principles of communist ideology.

Having achieved cultural unification first and ideological unification next has enabled China to be internally cohesive nation and politically stable state since 1950. For this reason Civil Government works in Mainland China.

Turkey went through a similar process of unification over course of its political history.  Turkey got cultural unification under 800 years of Ottoman Empire (Tezcan, 2010). This process of cultural unification provides cultural basis of nationhood for country of Turkey.

Modern Turkish state got ideological unification under Kemalism in 1923 (Zürcher, 2004). The principles of Kemalism are Republicanism, Populism, Laicism, Reformism, Nationalism and Statism (Gürpınar, 2013). Ideological unification has provided Turkey with stable principles of statehood. 

Having completed its two stages of unification in correct order has enabled modern Turkey to achieve coherent nationhood and stable statehood. It provided Turkey with a politically stable system of Government since 1923. For this reason Civil Government works in Turkey.

The other point to highlight is order of unification must follow the correct order. Cultural unification at the national must be completed before first. Ideological unification should come next. When this order is not followed the result is always a reversible, fragile and temporary political stability and order. This has been experience of Afghanistan since 1919.

In Afghanistan, since 1919 correct order of unification of the country has not been followed.  For this reason political stability has been temporary and short lived every time. 

Current culture of Afghanistan is internally fragmented along lines of tribalism and ethnic nationalism. This fragmentation has politically divided the civilian population into several small ethnic, religious and tribal groups.

For this reason in Afghanistan there is no cohesive concept of nationhood at the national level. This has been consistent pattern of life since establishment of independent Afghanistan in 1707. Under such conditions any efforts that go into ideological unification fails to produce a stable political state since it will not follow correct order of unification.

Successive Afghan strongmen have attempted ideological unification since 1919.  She had Secularism (1919-29), Monarchism (1920-1973), Republicanism (1973-78), Communism (1979-89) and Islamism (1989- ongoing).

Review of historical experience of Afghanistan shows it has never completed its process of nationhood at the national level since its establishment as an independent country in 1707. When there is no coherent concept of nationhood any efforts that go into ideological unification is wasted.

Afghanistan has put consistent effort into ideological unification to produce a stable political state since 1919. Evert time it has produced temporary political stability and order. The important point to recognize is Afghanistan has not followed correct order of two stages of unification and therefore it has failed to secure long-term political stability. Civil war (1989- ongoing) still runs deep in Afghanistan.  Over the long term culture of a society has got monopoly on its levels of collective perfection. Reformist politics can change short-term fortunes of a country. But it cannot change long-term fundamentals of a society.

Recognition of this limitation puts limitations on levels of change Afghanistan can accomplish under political leadership from Kabul.

In Afghanistan this means no single government, military officer, warlord or President of Afghanistan can permanently overcome long-term political instability created by incomplete process of evolution of nationhood and statehood.

Generations of reformist political leaders in Kabul will come and go overtime. Reformist politics from Kabul cannot change underlying problems of incoherent nationhood and incoherent statehood in Afghanistan.

Long-term outcome of reformist politics from Kabul will always be temporary in the country. Regardless of who is in power in Kabul, over the long term, Afghanistan will continue to have problems of political instability as long as tribalism and ethnic nationalism provides philosophical framework of culture, political authority and statehood in Afghanistan.

Under competent reformist politics from Kabul, Afghanistan can have temporary political stability. But it will not have permanent political stability under current cultural realities.  Current system of Government in Afghanistan was established after removal of Taliban from power in 2001. It can be best described as a weak tribal democracy.  Lack of cohesive nationhood in Afghanistan means any form of structured statehood will have temporary existence. This is certainly true for current Government of Tribal Democracy.  The only way to temporarily overcome the cultural and ideological fragmentations in Afghanistan is to completely overhaul the political system in Afghanistan.

Recognizing historical shortcomings of Afghani society, in my next political essay I will outline my vision for alternative political systems in Afghanistan that can have a realistic chance of working.