Impact Of Dynastic Politics On Democracy In Pakistan

Abstract

The core aim of the study is to examine dynastic politics and its impact in Pakistan. Dyastic politics is a deep-seated phenomenon in Pakistan. Unfortunately, electoral politics is a family business in Pakistan, with few families ruling the Pakistani legislatures, turning them into oligarchies. It is the dynastic blood that leads the party and follows in the party succession. Many experienced politicians in dynastic parties have never become party leaders because they do not have dynastic blood. The study argues that dynastic politics has negatively impacted true democratic growth in Pakistan. Politics has become more of a family business than a thoughtful process to help communities. They will contest the elections not to improve the lives of millions, but to demonstrate their innate right to rule and dictate. The rural districts in Pakistan are deeply embedded in political dynasties. An ordinary Pakistani living in the outlying districts is little aware of this and is mentally a slave to these ruling elites. He knows his salvation depends on serving these families. The qualitative method has been used for data collection. Both secondary and primary sources have been employed for data collection. The secondary sources of data include books, journals, newspapers and magazines. The primary data have been collected in the form of semi-structured interviews from various categories of the respondents like politicians, journalists, academia, local bodies’ representatives and electorate by using purposive sampling technique. From each category, ten respondents have been interviewed leading to a total of 50 interviews. The primary data has been analyzed with the help of thematic analysis. The scope of the study is limited to Pakistan. The study’s findings provides a strong justification to the argument of the study that dynastic politics has badly affected a true democratic advancement in Pakistan.