Does poor governance promote extremism? Pakistan is a critical test case of the possible relationship between the two. The country is in the grip of an escalating terrorist insurgency. At the same time, it suffers from severe deficiencies in governance, including high levels of corruption and failure to deliver essential social services. Whether citizens who experience poor governance are more likely to hold extremist views or participate in terrorist movements is an important question in understanding drivers of violence in Pakistan. However, empirical research on connections between the two is sparse.

With the support of USIP, the Governance Institutes Network International (GINI), a Pakistani non-governmental organization based in Islamabad, will conduct surveys of 2,000 adults in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, and the former Malakand Division to explore potential links between misgovernance and radicalization and gain insight into the supply-side dynamics of misgovernance. Survey results will be shared with government stakeholders at nine focus group discussions in the three regions.

The grant will shed light on possible links between misgovernance and extremism in Pakistan, disseminate findings to officials about the consequences of misgovernance, and develop policy options to address governance challenges that are shown to be drivers of extremism. The grant also aims to create potential space for dialogue between local service providers and citizens that allows them to begin resolving conflicts and building peace.

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