Executive summary

This policy brief looks at the underlying causes of weak governance and poor interaction between Pakistan’s institutions and its citizens. Factors are broadly organized in three dimensions: structural, including geopolitical position, historical backdrop and social structures; the distribution and exercise of power; and Pakistan’s current state of affairs.

The country’s difficult geography, the strong ethnic identity of its four provinces and its geopolitical relations have posed challenges to the Pakistani state and compelled it to rely on two strategies: guaranteeing national security and promoting Islam as a unifying factor. Consequently, the army comprises a “state within a state” with increasing power over the economy, foreign policy and domestic allocation of resources. Political parties in Pakistan lack internal democracy, relying on patron-client networks to garner votes, and the judiciary plays a subservient role to the military and political class.

Key current trends include increased radicalization and militancy within the country; the negative impact on public opinion of US strategy in the region and the Pakistani government’s alignment with it; the growth of media influence and its sympathy for religious radicals and militants; and the military escalation of the conflict between the state and the Pakistani Taliban, currently manifested in the Swat valley offensive which has displaced over two million people. The complexity of Pakistan’s current political fragility and security crisis must be fully analyzed by the West and international donors. Then they must offer a long-term commitment and wholehearted support to address Pakistan’s most urgent need: to restore a legitimate, democratic Pakistani state.