Pakistan and Nature of the State: Revisionism, Jihad and Governance

The course of democracy has never run smooth in Pakistan. Every time the state is ruled by a dictator, the urge for democratic governance increases. Yet, each democratic interregnum has unfolded amid controversy and wrangling till it is no longer tolerable for the state. Ironically, looking back, scholars find only the periods of non democratic rule more economically successful. The normal state of the state in Pakistan appears . therefore to be non-democratic. While the variations in the mode of governance introduced by dictators to achieve acceptance and legitimacy have been studied, there is still space for studying the changing nature of the state itself ..