Consociationalism and Multi-Ethnic States: Post-1971 Pakistan—A Case Study

Abstract

This study aims to enhance our understanding relating the utility of consociational democracy for multiethnic states, analyzing the Pakistani case. So, the central concern of this dissertation is whether or not consociationalism is a viable solution for the multiethnic society of Pakistan. To address this concern, three arguments have been presented in the thesis: First, the political mobilization and ethnic strife in Pakistan is not caused by non-consociational features of the federation but because of its relatively centralized settings. Second, consociationalism is not a realistic option for Pakistan to manage ethnic diversity. This conclusion is based on three observations: (a) with some exceptions, favorable conditions for the establishment and maintenance of consociational democracy are missing in the case of Pakistan, (b) the evaluation of Pakistani society illustrates that it is not a case of deeply divided society, (c) and the past experiences of power- sharing arrangements in Pakistan demonstrate the inaptness of these arrangements for this case. Conversely, the study explores the underlying relevancy of federalism with the Pakistani society. Third, the plurality of Pakistanis seems unconvinced by the consociational arguments. A majority of interviewees demonstrated more support for the decentralized federalism than the consociationalism. The irrelevancy of consociationalism with the Pakistani case seems to suggest that consociational democracy’s utility varies across case studies. Hence, it is not, necessarily, a viable solution for all multiethnic societies. In addition, the thesis argues that Pakistan needs a relatively more decentralized federal design to manage ethnic diversity.