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Pakistan after Benazir: Promise and Peril towards an Islamic Democracy Dr. Saleem H. Ali

Pakistan after Benazir: Promise and Peril towards an Islamic Democracy Dr. Saleem H. Ali. Saleem.Ali@uvm.edu http://www.uvm.edu/~shali. Map of Pakistan. Historical context. One of only two modern countries formed solely on the basis of religion

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Pakistan after Benazir: Promise and Peril towards an Islamic Democracy Dr. Saleem H. Ali

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  1. Pakistan after Benazir:Promise and Peril towards an Islamic DemocracyDr. Saleem H. Ali Saleem.Ali@uvm.edu http://www.uvm.edu/~shali

  2. Map of Pakistan

  3. Historical context • One of only two modern countries formed solely on the basis of religion • Former British India was divided into India and Pakistan in 1947 (including what is now Bangladesh) • Civil war in 1971 led to the formation of the independent state of Bangladesh • The essential tension between a theocratic versus secular state has existed since inception

  4. Three Limitations to Pakistan’s democratization • The army’s dominance in every aspect of political and economic life • Refer to new book By A. Siddiqua Military Inc. • A lack of education leads to asymmetric and inefficient outcomes • People are much more easily taken in by propaganda and conspiracy theories • Feudal elite still control the political scene • Benazir was part of this establishment

  5. Islam and Democracy • Considerable debate about the prospect of democracy in Islam given a history of non-electoral politics • Clearly not dynastic in its early history but tensions existed on this too – Shia versus Sunni split on dynastic succession • Meritocracy and consensus (shuraa) were the main deliberative mechanism rather than pure voting output

  6. Islam and Pluralism • Diversity is accommodated within a fairly regimented system in traditional doctrines • However, Islamic societies have shown the ability to adapt much more than they are given credit for these days (as far back as Moorish times or Emperor Akbar’s reign in India: Maria Rosa Menocal’s work) • In contemporary societies Malaysia, the UAE and the gulf states are often presented as examples of pluralism (without democracy)

  7. Can Pakistan follow a path in this regard after Benazir? • Benazir initially had placated a lot of the traditional Islamist elements: she recognized the Taliban government and was willing to meet Mullah Umar in the early nineties • More recently her views had moved towards confrontation with the Islamists • The moderate majority in Pakistan is increasingly afraid of the armed militants • External intervention is still anathema to most Pakistanis regardless of political persuasion

  8. Suggestions for U.S Policy • Focus on populist appeal rather than personality-driven politics: there’s more to Pakistan than Musharraf and Bhutto • Support a major arms buy-back / exchange for development effort that leads to more robust economies in NWFP and Southern Punjab • Public diplomacy efforts should continue as they have been started since 9/11 – example the 200+ Fulbright program and the work of World Affairs Councils

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