CIVIL BUREAUCRACY AND DEMOCRACY IN PAKISTAN: DO THEY MUTUALLY CO-EXIST?

Abstract

This paper explores the co-existence of democracy and powerful civil bureaucracy in Pakistan. The available literatureinforms that there are multiple factors responsible for the failure of democratic or parliamentary governance in Pakistanincluding inept political parties, socio-economic inequalities, direct and indirect interventions of the military, a centralised federation, and geo-strategic location of Pakistan . In addition to these factors, using Alavi’s “over-developed” thesis, this paper argues that “powerful” civil bureaucracy is one of the main obstacles in the way of Westminster democratic model of governance in Pakistan. Colonial legacy, institutional structure, a sense of superiority, technical know-how, and feuds among the politicians make civil bureaucracy ‘powerful’ and ‘over-developed’ and enable civil servants in Pakistan toresist any reforms that threaten their power and status. Data is collected through interviews from a diverse group of academics, bureaucrats and politicians.