Federalist Solutions to Pakistan's Political Crises investigates the transformative potential of communal democratic norms within Pakistan's politico-economic sphere. Analyzing the current consociational structure, which inordinately predicates federal organization on ethnic identity, the book reveals the particular challenges facing Pakistan, exacerbated by the imposition of neoliberal norms on its society and economy. Advocating for a localized centripetalist model, Sikander Ahmed Shah proposes leveraging power sharing to counter the prevailing hegemonic trends and to foster greater sociocultural cohesion within Pakistan’s diverse polity. This model entails dividing Pakistan’s federal provinces into smaller, diverse entities more reflective of their particular constituent demographics, while integrating key democratic principles such as distributive justice, grassroots democracy, minority protections, and multiculturalism into its governance structures. The book explores Pakistan's civil-military asymmetry, emphasizing the influential role of the military establishment and its intertwined relationship with preexisting inter-ethnic tensions. The analysis also extends to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), examining its impact on Pakistan's federal structure, socio-economic fabric, and civil-military dynamics within the context of China's distinctive economy. Throughout, the work seeks to provide locally relevant and indigenously viable solutions for positive and equitable outcomes, challenging historical power imbalances that have marginalized certain groups in Pakistan.
By:
Sikander Ahmed Shah
Imprint: Lexington Books/Fortress Academic
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions:
Height: 236mm,
Width: 160mm,
Spine: 31mm
Weight: 717g
ISBN: 9781666955453
ISBN 10: 1666955450
Pages: 342
Publication Date: 09 May 2024
Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Chapter 1. Implementing Local Centripetalism in Pakistan: A Federalist Solution for Upholding Distributive Justice, Local Democracy, Collective Protection of Minorities and Multiculturalism to Combat Interethnic Conflict, Civil Military Imbalance, and the Inequalities Exacerbated by Chinese Investments. Chapter 2. Ethnic Federalism and Pakistan Chapter 3. Civil-Military Relations Chapter 4. Chinese Expansionism and the Impact of Chinese Investments in Pakistan: Neoliberalism, China’s Belt and Road Initiative of Unpacking the Chinese - Pakistan Economic Corridor
Sikander Ahmed Shah is distinguished faculty member and founding member of the Shaikh Ahmad Hassan School of Law at Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS).
Reviews for Federalist Solutions to Pakistan's Political Crises
"""Shah powerfully historicizes and critiques Pakistan's existing federalism as a way of managing ethnic difference. Drawing comparative lessons from constitutional experiments from across the Global South, he also provocatively suggests a new form of federalism to tackle Pakistan's many interlocked political crises, including regional-ethnic conflict, military overreach, poor local governance, spatial inequality, and the geopolitics of Chinese infrastructural investment."" --Majed Akhter, King's College London"
