scholarly journals Elite Political Culture as Problematic for Liberal Democracy in Pakistan: A Critical Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 235-241
Author(s):  
Mohammad Ashfaq ◽  
Yasmin Roofi

The elite political culture of Pakistan is comparatively feudalistic in nature as the base of power in the state. Political culture may be defined as how many people participate in the political procedure. It is a system of beliefs upon which a large majority of people agree. The history of the political culture of Pakistan has witnessed the domination of multiple elite groups. These major elites had influences on the political system. Gaetano Mosca, the founder of the Italian school of elitism enumerated the personal traits of these ruling elites, operating centrally as direct power holders of the body politics, The purpose of this research is to critically study the elite political culture and problematics created by this group for liberal democracy. This research will present the concept of elite political culture and how it emerged in the politics of Pakistan. It will also conclude that how elite political culture distorted or eclipsed specifically the smooth functioning of the liberal democratic political system of the state and society in general. For the completion of the proposed study, both primary, as well as secondary sources, have been used. While undertaking any research a peculiar methodology is applied to obtain the objectives of the study. Historical, narrative, descriptive, analytical and conceptual research methodology is applied. This is a descriptive analysis of elitism and presents this concept through different authors who treated this subject in different manners.

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (6) ◽  
pp. 1803-1805
Author(s):  
Dimitar Spaseski

The state has a central place in the political system. Through its structure and positioning the country has the strength to be a unifier of society against its overall division of the various classes and layers, ethnic, cultural and other groups. The legitimacy of all these processes is given by laws that determine the trajectory of all processes and the conditions under which the processes take place. The state, by adopting the highest legal acts such as: the constitution and the laws, achieves one of its most important functions, which is the management of society. The state directs society to promote development, but also punishes and sanction infringements and mistakes. Depending on who exercises power in the state, i.e. whether it belongs to the people, to an individual or to a powerful group, the political system can be determined. The political system in itself includes the overall state relations, the relations in society and the guidelines for the conduct of the policy of the state. A state in which the government is elected by the people through direct elections certainly fulfills the basic requirement for the development of a stable civil society. The political system is one of the sub-systems of the entire civil society. The political system is specific in that all the activities and relations of which it is composed are directed to the state and its functions. The structure of the political system is composed of political and legal norms, political knowledge, political culture and political structure. These elements confirm the strong relationship between the state, the law and the political system. Developed democratic societies can talk about a developed political system that abounds with political culture and democracy. It is the aspiration of our life. Investing in democratic societies we invest in the future of our children. If we separate the subjects of the political system, we will determine that the people are the basis of the political system. All competencies intertwine around people. Political systems are largely dependent not only on the political processes that take place in them every day, but also on the economic performance and the economic power of the states. Economic stagnation or regression in some countries often threatens democracy and its values. We often forget that we cannot speak of the existence of a functioning and well-organized democratic political system without its strong economic support. In conditions of globalization, it is necessary to pay special attention to international positions as the main factor of the political system, for the simple reason that the functions of the state in this process are increasingly narrowing.


Author(s):  
Dejan Matić ◽  

The paper discusses the axiological foundations of constitutional democracy and populism, as well as the influence of populist movements on law, legal processes, liberal democracy and the state order as a whole. The conceptual definition of populism in the situation of stable functioning of the political system inevitably leads to the conclusion that it represents an anomaly and an absolutely retrograde political phenomenon in the conditions of globalization and constant changes in modern societies. A serious crisis of the political system, that is, consequently, of the state- legal order as a whole, puts things on a completely new basis, providing an opportunity for a deeper and more complete understanding of the phenomenon of populism and its impact on constitutionalism and democracy.


2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (11) ◽  
pp. 101-107
Author(s):  
O. O. Demyanenko

The article provides a comprehensive analysis of public deliberative discourse as one of the leading instruments for political modernization. The emphasis is placed on the fact that deliberative communication became possible in practical terms as a result of consolidation of postmodern as a world outlook. It is emphasized that deliberative discourse is a communicative act of equal members, aimed at achieving a compromise in the form of a concrete public decision. The author argues that deliberative discourse contributes to the strengthening of civil society, which, in turn, acts as a kind of trigger for political modernization. After all, the consolidated community is better aware of its own interests, properly formulates common requirements and communicates them to the state and other political institutions. Deliberation offers a new interpretation of rationality, legitimacy, publicity, etc. Public policy is a sphere of partnership interaction of public entities, including the state as a carrier of political power and civil society as a carrier of communication power. It is systematically proved that deliberative discourse has a complex effect on the political system, which is objectified at the level of its individual components. Political modernization is understood as the logical existential deployment of the political system, which states the dynamics and denies the static of the latter. In the course of a deliberative discourse, changes take place in the political consciousness of a citizen, emotional expressions turn into logical and rational beliefs. It is argued that inclusiveness, equality and transparency of deliberative measures allow a citizen to become an active actor of public policy, suggesting a new political culture. Changing values provokes a new way of action. Therefore, a delibearative political culture leads to a new format of political relations – cooperation. As a result, a number of changes take place at the institutional level (the public administration model and its tools are updated). That is how the paradigm of good governance is strengthened and the e-governance method is activated. Modernization measures at the level of political consciousness and culture, political relations and institutions with necessity lead to the improvement of the normative and legal basis for the functioning of the political sphere of public life.


1992 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 269-293 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian McAllister ◽  
Toni Makkai

AbstractPolitical participation is central to liberal democracy, yet there are substantial variations in the levels of participation observable among different social groups. Empirical theories explain these variations by the different socio-economic resources individuals possess and by their resulting levels of trust and efficacy in the political system. By contrast, social learning theories see these differences in participation as stemming from the values that individuals absorb from the political culture. This article uses Australia—an established liberal democracy with a large immigrant population—as a case study to evaluate these two theories. The results show that immigrants socialized in countries lacking continuous democratic traditions have greater political trust, but also display more authoritarian values. Differences emerge not only in the type of participation being analyzed, but among ethnic groups. The findings support the view that the resource and social learning theories are complementary rather than exclusive explanations for political participation.


Sains Insani ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 12-16
Author(s):  
Mohammad Tawfik Yaakub ◽  
Osman Md Rasip

This article discusses impact of UMNO-PAS political cooperation towards Islamic development in Malaysia from 1973 until 1978. The success of political cooperation in 1973 was the result of both UMNO’s leader, Tun Abdul Razak and PAS’s leader, Asri Muda willingness to explore a new political approach compared to what was being practiced at that time. Both leaders then started the development of a government known as the ‘Cooperation Government’ with the combination of UMNO and PAS in 1973 and later on, the development of the National Front’s (BN) Coalition Government in 1974. The Islamic religion benefits the most from the development of the Coalition Government which is a favourable gain for the Malays in Malaysia. Henceforth, this article will discuss in detail on the impact of the political cooperation between UMNO and PAS within the cooperation period. The methods used for this research is by interview and also by referring to secondary sources which are analyzed in a historical descriptive manner that is normally practiced in historical research. At the end of this research it is established that there are profound impacts to the Islamic religion within the UMNO-PAS cooperation period within 1973 to 1978 for example, the television and radio station beginning starting their programmes with the recitation from Quranic verses, the promulgation of ‘Adhan, alcohols are no longer served in official government’s function, lottery companies are not allowed to promote and announce the lottery results in official government’s media, the establishment of Islamic institution, the strengthening of Islamic education and the appropriate change in the relevant ministry’s symbols. This article can be utilized by subsequent researchers who wish to study the impact of political cooperation between UMNO and PAS. Keywords: political cooperation, UMNO-PAS, cooperation government ABTRAK:Makalah ini membincangkan mengenai impak kerjasama politik UMNO-PAS terhadap perkembangan Islam di Malaysia dari tahun 1973 hingga 1978. Kerjasama politik yang berjaya dibentuk bermula pada tahun 1973 adalah hasil daripada kesediaan Tun Abdul Razak dengan Mohd Asri Muda yang menerajui UMNO dan PAS pada ketika itu mencetuskan perubahan corak berpolitik yang berbeza berbanding sebelumnya. Maka, kedua-dua pemimpin ini kemudiannya merintis pembentukan sebuah kerajaan yang menggabungkan UMNO dengan PAS menerusi Kerajaan Campuran pada tahun 1973 dan Kerajaan Gabungan Barisan Nasional (BN) pada tahun 1974. Hasil daripada kejayaan penubuhan kedua-dua kerajaan ini, perkembangan Islam di negara ini bertambah pesat dan dapat dimanfaatkan oleh keseluruhan orang Melayu di Malaysia. Justeru, artikel ini membincangkan secara terperinci impak kerjasama politik antara UMNO dengan PAS dalam tempoh kerjasama politik berkenaan. Penyelidikan ini menggunapakai kaedah temubual dan menyorot sejumlah sumber sekunder yang kemudiannya dianalisis secara deskriptif sejarah (historical descriptive analysis) yang lazimnya dipraktikkan dalam kajian sejarah. Hasil kajian ini mendapati terdapat impak-impak jelas terhadap perkembangan Islam di negara ini sepanjang tempoh kerjasama politik antara UMNO dengan PAS dari tahun 1973 hingga 1978. Antara impak-impak tersebut ialah permulaan siaran televisyen dan radio dengan bacaan ayat-ayat suci Al-Quran, mengumandangkan suara azan, penghapusan arak dalam majlis-majlis kerajaan, penghapusan promosi dan keputusan judi di media kerajaan, penubuhan institusi Islam, pemerkasaan pendidikan Islam dan penukaran simbol institisu kerajaan. Akhirnya, artikel ini dapat dimanfaatkan oleh penyelidik-penyelidik berikutnya untuk menilai impak kerjasama politik antara UMNO dengan PAS.Kata kunci: kerjasama politik, UMNO-PAS, kerajaan campuran


2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-63
Author(s):  
Ruth Roded

Beginning in the early 1970s, Jewish and Muslim feminists, tackled “oral law”—Mishna and Talmud, in Judaism, and the parallel Hadith and Fiqh in Islam, and several analogous methodologies were devised. A parallel case study of maintenance and rebellion of wives —mezonoteha, moredet al ba?ala; nafaqa al-mar?a and nush?z—in classical Jewish and Islamic oral law demonstrates similarities in content and discourse. Differences between the two, however, were found in the application of oral law to daily life, as reflected in “responsa”—piskei halacha and fatwas. In modern times, as the state became more involved in regulating maintenance and disobedience, and Jewish law was backed for the first time in history by a state, state policy and implementation were influenced by the political system and socioeconomic circumstances of the country. Despite their similar origin in oral law, maintenance and rebellion have divergent relevance to modern Jews and Muslims.


Author(s):  
Anatolii Petrovich Mykolaiets

It is noted that from the standpoint of sociology, “management — a function of organized systems of various nature — (technical, biological, social), which ensures the preservation of their structure, maintaining a certain state or transfer to another state, in accordance with the objective laws of the existence of this system, which implemented by a program or deliberately set aside”. Management is carried out through the influence of one subsystem-controlling, on the other-controlled, on the processes taking place in it with the help of information signals or administrative actions. It is proved that self-government allows all members of society or a separate association to fully express their will and interests, overcome alienation, effectively combat bureaucracy, and promote public self-realization of the individual. At the same time, wide direct participation in the management of insufficiently competent participants who are not responsible for their decisions, contradicts the social division of labor, reduces the effectiveness of management, complicates the rationalization of production. This can lead to the dominance of short-term interests over promising interests. Therefore, it is always important for society to find the optimal measure of a combination of self-management and professional management. It is determined that social representation acts, on the one hand, as the most important intermediary between the state and the population, the protection of social interests in a politically heterogeneous environment. On the other hand, it ensures the operation of a mechanism for correcting the political system, which makes it possible to correct previously adopted decisions in a legitimate way, without resorting to violence. It is proved that the system of social representation influences the most important political relations, promotes social integration, that is, the inclusion of various social groups and public associations in the political system. It is proposed to use the term “self-government” in relation to several levels of people’s association: the whole community — public self-government or self-government of the people, to individual regions or communities — local, to production management — production self-government. Traditionally, self-government is seen as an alternative to public administration. Ideology and practice of selfgovernment originate from the primitive, communal-tribal democracy. It is established that, in practice, centralization has become a “natural form of government”. In its pure form, centralization does not recognize the autonomy of places and even local life. It is characteristic of authoritarian regimes, but it is also widely used by democratic regimes, where they believe that political freedoms should be fixed only at the national level. It is determined that since the state has achieved certain sizes, it is impossible to abandon the admission of the existence of local authorities. Thus, deconcentration appears as one of the forms of centralization and as a cure for the excesses of the latter. Deconcentration assumes the presence of local bodies, which depend on the government functionally and in the order of subordination of their officials. The dependency of officials means that the leadership of local authorities is appointed by the central government and may be displaced.


Author(s):  
Ross McKibbin

This book is an examination of Britain as a democratic society; what it means to describe it as such; and how we can attempt such an examination. The book does this via a number of ‘case-studies’ which approach the subject in different ways: J.M. Keynes and his analysis of British social structures; the political career of Harold Nicolson and his understanding of democratic politics; the novels of A.J. Cronin, especially The Citadel, and what they tell us about the definition of democracy in the interwar years. The book also investigates the evolution of the British party political system until the present day and attempts to suggest why it has become so apparently unstable. There are also two chapters on sport as representative of the British social system as a whole as well as the ways in which the British influenced the sporting systems of other countries. The book has a marked comparative theme, including one chapter which compares British and Australian political cultures and which shows British democracy in a somewhat different light from the one usually shone on it. The concluding chapter brings together the overall argument.


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