Government of Afghanistan

The government of Afghanistan, officially called the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is the central government of Afghanistan, a unitary state. Under the leadership of the Taliban, the government is a theocracy and an emirate with political power concentrated in the hands of a supreme leader and his clerical advisors, collectively referred to as the Leadership. The Leadership makes all major policy decisions behind closed doors, which are then implemented by the country's civil service and judiciary. As Afghanistan is an Islamic state, governance is based on Sharia law and Pashtunwali, which the Taliban enforces strictly through extensive social and cultural policy.

Over its history, Afghanistan has variously been governed as a monarchy, a republic, and a theocracy. The current theocratic government came to power in 2021 with the Taliban's victory in a twenty-year insurgency against the western-backed Islamic Republic, after having itself been ousted in 2001.

The current government is internationally unrecognized and lacks a clear constitutional basis, though the Taliban announced plans in January 2022 to form a constitutional commission. Instead, the government applies an interpretation of Sharia law. There is no separation of powers, with total authority vested in the Leadership. The government is criticized by international observers for totalitarianism, systemic human rights violations, as well as for being unaccountable, opaque, and exclusive of women, religious and ethnic minorities, and those with dissenting views. Since coming to power, it has grappled with an economic crisis, international isolation, terrorism and rebellion, and a string of natural disasters.