Middle East & North Africa / Comment
Democracy perspectives in Pakistan
14/02/2008 By Christian Wagner
Nine years after the 1999 coup that brought President Musharraf to power, the security situation in Pakistan is at a low-point the like of which it has seen on only a handful of occasions in its 60-year history.
The advance of Islamic militant groups in the area bordering Afghanistan, the uprising in the Balochistan region, the confrontations with the political opposition, and the declaration of a state of emergency in November and December 2007, along with the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, have severely damaged the reputations of both Musharraf and the Army.
Hopes are currently being placed on the parliamentary elections scheduled for February 16, which will have to provide the new government significantly wider legitimacy. Possibilities for a democratic evolution in Pakistan still look remote, however.
This is not just due to the Islamist threat, but also to the sympathies of the country’s troops. During Musharraf’s time in power, Pakistan has become a “praetorian democracy”, leaving little room for the evolution of democracy.
This FRIDE Comment analyses the correlation between internal and external faces in 2008, a year which promises to be a trying one for Pakistan.
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Publishing groups
Afghanistan and Pakistan: a region in crisisKeywords
Elections Pakistan South AsiaRelated publications
- Afghanistan and the crisis in Pakistan
- Already a failed state? Pakistan in the aftermath of Bhutto's assassination
Bio author: Christian Wagner
Christian Wagner is the head of the Asia Research Unit at Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (the German Institute for International and Security Affairs).
