Abstract

The institution of the president exists in the majority of the countries of the western world. Depending on the prerogatives granted by the constitution, the president may perform either a representative function or have the real power. No matter what the role of the president is, the position is deeply embedded in the political system, and the constitutional law as well as political practice specify its scope of competencies and capabilities. When we go beyond the Euro-Atlantic area, we can also find the states where an office of president is run. While its formation, Asian, African and South American societies, consciously or not, usually emulated the Euro-Atlantic experiences. In general, historical background of the non-European states, however, makes the history of the presidential office shorter, and the introduction of this position was often a result of violent sociopolitical changes. What often distinguishes the presidencies of the African and Asian countries from the Euro-Atlantic ones is their instability - in running this office a lot depends on the personality traits of the person holding it as well as on the tradition (or lack thereof) of strong central governance. On that premise, the presidency history of a non-European state, i.e. Afghanistan can be presented. This is an interesting case since the above mentioned factors are clearly visible in here, and the state's internal political situation is unstable. In addition, as the international forces are supposed to be withdrawn from the country until the end of 2014, the president may then become the main body formulating public policy and, thus, shaping the future of Afghanistan.