Evaluating the State of Democracy in Pakistan

The February 2008 elections marked a fresh opportunity for democratic consolidation in Pakistan. The Obama administration pledged support for the civilian government, and seemed committed to dispensing with the pro-Musharraf policy of preceding administrations. Two years later, however, concerns about the weakness of the Zardari government are heard loud and clear, despite the fact that his Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) government has achieved major successes in terms of constitutional reform and provincial empowerment. The Pakistani military, on the other hand, is believed to possess de facto control of Pakistan's security policy. Its image as an institution is on the rise within Pakistan, and its role in flood relief efforts is likely to reinforce this view.

Just how sustainable is Pakistan's democratic dispensation, and what can the international community, specifically the U.S., do to ensure uninterrupted civilian rule in Pakistan?

A panel of leading experts joined USIP to debate this question, examining three aspects of the present state of Pakistan's democracy: the evolution of the civil-military relationship since 2008 and where it seems to be headed; civilian economic and governance performance since the PPP government took over, and how that has, and likely will, impact Pakistan's political outlook; and the challenge of negotiating within Pakistan's civil-military relationship faced by the Obama administration and other global powers, and what this complex relationship means for long-term civilian supremacy in Pakistan.

Speakers

• Moeed Yusuf, Moderator
  South Asia Adviser
  U.S. Institute of Peace
• Mohammad Waseem, Panelist
  Professor at Lahore University of Management Sciences and Ford Foundation Visiting Fellow at the Brookings Institution
• Shahid Javed Burki, Panelist
  Chairman of the Institute of Public Policy, Lahore, and former Finance Minister of Pakistan
• Sheila Fruman, Panelist
  Pakistan Country Director, 2006-2010
  National Democratic Institute

Explore Further

• Listen to an audio recording of the event.
• Read the recent Peace Brief on the challenges Pakistan's recent flooding pose to the civilian government.