POLITICAL UPHEAVAL IN PAKISTAN: A ‘FAILED DEMOCRACY’ OR A ‘BOTCHED ELECTORAL SYSTEM’? A MEDIA, SOCIETY, AND SUSTAINABILITY QUESTION

Abstract

In this paper we have attempted to explore and analyse recurrent political upheavals in Pakistan through the lens of democratic theory, sustainability governance perspective, electoral integrity, and media dynamics. We have examined whether Pakistan should be labelled as a failed democracy or as a country with structural disruptions within its institutional and electoral systems. Bearing in mind the historical political landscape, current institutional environment, and comparative political theory, we argue that normatively Pakistan cannot be labelled as a democratic collapse. However, it can be represented as a country with a ‘hybrid political system’ characterised by an electoral system that coexists with structural instability including imbalances in civil-military relations, unwanted judicial interventions, disputed electoral management, and intensifying media polarisation. This paper explores the historical origin of the political instability in the country starting from early constitutional crises and military takeovers to the democratic developments after 2008. This paper critically examines how the electoral mechanism, the institutional integrity of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), and the hybrid governance system have shaped the electoral legitimacy in the country. More critically, we have attempted to analyse the role of media in terms of a watchdog and political polarisation actor in the contemporary digitalised information ecology. Analysing the political instability within the premise of sustainability governance, in this paper we have established how recurrent political upheavals interrupt economic planning, education reforms, and climate adaptation strategies. We have proposed three broad political future scenarios including a continued hybrid instability, an institutional reform and democratic consolidation, and a democratic backsliding. At the end of this paper along with offering a way forward for Pakistan, we have argued that Pakistan’s challenge lies not in democratic rejection but in institutional distortion. For a sustainable democratic consolidation electoral reforms, governance continuity, balanced civil-military relations, and responsible media governance are the key requirements