Commentary Critiques Lack of Political Actors in Afghan Society

Dr. Latif Pedram, leader of the National Congress Party of Afghanistan, stated in a discussion: "Our society is full of political analysts, but there are very few political actors in it."

This remark highlights a structural vacuum in Afghan politics, where discourse dominates over action and responsibility. Politics, the commentary argues, is not merely analysis or prediction but requires individuals or groups to enter the public sphere, establish positions, and accept consequences.

Drawing on Hannah Arendt, the piece defines politics as an activity among humans in a shared space, involving risk as actors expose themselves to public judgment. Analysts interpret from a safe distance, while true political actors make their presence concrete and bear responsibility.

Over the past two decades, especially during the republican era, Afghanistan's media and political space expanded with analytical programs, newspaper columns, and social networks. This created a gap: analysis became an independent, cost-free activity rather than a prelude to intervention, leaving society reactive and passive.

Max Weber's distinction between the ethics of conviction and responsibility underscores that political actors must accept unforeseen outcomes, transcending intellectual coherence. Without such actors, politics reduces to collective spectatorship, with society interpreting events rather than shaping them.

From Karl Marx's perspective, politics fundamentally aims to change the existing situation, critiquing philosophy that merely interprets the world.