In the course of Afghan modern history, what have been ignored the most are the people. The totalitarian kingdoms and self-centered politicians have mostly assumed and practiced as if they personally owned the authority. The ruling families recognized almost no source of legitimacy for the power they exercised. Authority was considered more like a heritage they had inherited through blood relationships, ethnic ties or group interests or had grabbed possibly by force.

The misconception was regrettably spreading to a wider circle. The rulers thought politics was a bunch of family - or, in a wider circle, ethnic - belonging to dominate other ethnic, religious and social groups, with no accountability or obligatory responses.

Resembling to the historical model of governance, the very recent decades in Afghanistan politics have lacked a standard code to make rulers account for their decisions, actions and policies. Political scientists have asserted that the spirit of authoritarianism is sustained in contemporary Afghan politics.

Rulers like to extend period of their ruling as longer as they can. The ill-minded intention has frequently caused disastrous consequences. Distribution of power and authorities has always alarmed rulers who did not tolerate a tiny change in their ideal status quo. Our old and recent history clearly shows cases in which the sitting rulers have stood against any proposals asking to moderate their absolute power and unquestionable authority.

Following the U-turn in 2001, the country was supposed to go a completely different direction where citizens held the power and the government facilitated the people. With the hard foreign-pushed steps, the process is retreating.

The politics of individuals, family, ethnicity and group express anger at public participation, decentralization and citizens' appropriate role in defining the nation's destiny and leading public affairs. The nation has always had the potential to decide on their own and define their priorities but it has been the dominant force that has denied them the right to participate in decision making and political processes.

This has, in turn, led to a huge gap between the government and rulers. The "self and other" line has always existed in Afghan arena of politics. Neither the nation has fully trusted the government nor have the rulers paid respect to people's rights. To eliminate mistrust and fill the gap between government and people, the government needs to stop thinking self-centrically and should demonstrate controllability. For politics to get refined and humanized in Afghanistan, the rulers should transform.