Over the past 70 years, Pakistan has produced an institutional structure that is highly unlikely to meet demands of the time. Resultantly, the institutional wreckage, left unrepaired by regimes in the past, continues to increase and debilitate over time.
It is indeed capacity and effectiveness of institutions which determine the central authority of the state and build relations between the state and society.
Over the past decades the relationship between the state and institutions has taken a prime position in the political discourse in Pakistan — on how to maintain institutions to generate an ideal ‘trust line’ between the society and institutions. Inefficient and weak state institutions, as history provides ample evidence, lead to civil wars in societies.
How the weak and ineffective institutions are drawn to chaos and uncertainty in societies is visible in Liberia, the coastal republic of western Africa. Liberia witnessed the bloodiest wave of civil wars from 1989 to 1996 because of the confluence of the tribal leaders installed by foreign hands and the American influence in the institutions.
Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson observe in their book, Narrow Corridor To Power, that the monopoly of a wealthy few on institutions of Liberia led to the deadliest civil war.
It has been more than 70 years that the British left the subcontinent. Yet the colonial legacy continues to succumb both Pakistani and Indian institutions to paper-thin leviathan. The paper-thin leviathan, as concluded by the authors of Narrow Corridor To Power germinates seeds for despotism. They reason that the paper-thin leviathan is common in countries that were once colonies.
Institutions in Pakistan show a similar picture of despotism where the public participation is almost nonexistent. It has generated distrust in the society. Tribal people run institutions in Pakistan. The state apparatus backs them to pursue their private interests at the cost of public welfare. Like the Liberian tribal heads and the external influence, the Pakistani elites and tribal leaders resist the innovative reforms thus weakening the state’s central power. The paper-thin leviathan continues to reign in and hold on to the institutional capacity of the Pakistani state.
An institution’s effectiveness and inclusiveness is perhaps the best yardstick to trace the relation between the state and society. If the state institutions are controlled by the wealthy few, trust gap between the state and society will increase and chaos and instability will persist.
The meagre growth achieved under Gen. Ayub was short lived. Growth achieved under despotic authority is always temporary. Nobody can deny the fact that we have achieved some degree of periodic growth, but for a short run.
Hoping for a grassroot level of reform in institutions is difficult at least for the time being, since Pakistan is reeling through the toughest political and economic times. Considering the status quo of the country, it is naïve to expect reformation. Globally, there is a sort of economic recession and uncertainty as the world is feeling the after-shocks of Covid-19 pandemic and the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine.
An institution’s effectiveness and inclusiveness is perhaps the best yardstick to trace the relation between the state and society. If the state institutions are controlled by the wealthy few, trust gap between the state and society will increase and chaos and instability will persist.
The recent disastrous floods have brought Pakistan at a crucial juncture. If the political parties continue to keep up their agendas to manipulate the state institutions instead of reviving and helping them grow, the situation will probably deteriorate and become catastrophic for the country.
Seeing the current political arena, a countrywide transformation seems a far cry. Progress is impossible without a central state authority, which is badly missing in our country.
