The question of why some countries have democratic regimes and
others do not is a significant issue in comparative politics. This
book looks at India and Pakistan, two countries with clearly
contrasting political regime histories, and presents an argument on
why India is a democracy and Pakistan is not. Focusing on the
specificities and the nuances of each state system, the author
examines in detail the balance of authority and power between
popular or elected politicians and the state apparatus through
substantial historical analysis.
India and Pakistan are both large, multi-religious and
multi-lingual countries sharing a geographic and historical space
that in 1947, when they became independent from British rule, gave
them a virtually indistinguishable level of both extreme poverty
and inequality. All of those factors militate against democracy,
according to most theories, and in Pakistan democracy did indeed
fail very quickly after Independence. It has only been restored as
a facade for military-bureaucratic rule for brief periods since
then. In comparison, after almost thirty years of democracy, India
had a brush with authoritarian rule, in the 1975-76 Emergency, and
some analysts were perversely reassured that the India exception
had been erased. But instead, after a momentous election in 1977,
democracy has become stronger over the last thirty years.
Providing a comparative analysis of the political systems of
India and Pakistan as well as a historical overview of the two
countries, this textbook constitutes essential reading for students
of South Asian History and Politics. It is a useful and balanced
introduction to the politics of India and Pakistan.
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