Arjumand Kazmi (School of Law, University of Warwick)
Is Pakistan's Political Culture Conducive to Democratisation? Stakeholders' Reflections
This paper presents critical insights into the understanding of Pakistan’s political culture and
its significance to Western funded democratisation programmes. These insights are informed
by the initial findings from an empirical study conducted with members of civil society
organisations, politicians and academics in Pakistan. The persistent fragility of democracy as
a system of governance, parallel to a pronounced interest and investment by the West in
‘consolidating democracy’ in Pakistan brings up some vexed questions about the ethnocentric
nature of democratisation agenda that is premised on liberal conceptions of democracy. Charge
of ‘ethnocentrism’ notwithstanding, there remains a dearth in local explanations concerning
the (im)plausibility of democracy in Pakistan.
The paper contends that in the context of Pakistan, an understanding of political culture which
signifies the relationship that exists between a society and its politics could illuminate a
‘structure of politics’ embedded in the local contexts. A cultural approach to understanding the
structure of politics leads to more sensitive and local explanations of the crisis of democracy.