Regime Types, Regime Transitions, and Religion in Pakistan

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Main author: Nelson, Matthew J.
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id eprints-39714
recordtype eprints
institution SOAS, University of London
collection SOAS Research Online
language English
language_search English
description How does religion shape regime types, and regime transitions, in Muslim-majority states? Focusing on Pakistan, this chapter examines the limited role of religious groups and religious ideas in driving political transitions between military and civilian-led regimes. Since the partition of India and the formation of Pakistan in 1947, civilian-led regimes have been removed in three military coups (1958, 1977, 1999); only one of these (1977) was framed in religious terms. Protesters later helped to oust Pakistan’s military regimes in 1969–1970, 1988, and 2007–2008. Again, these protests stressed nonreligious more than religious demands. Within Pakistan, ostensibly “democratizing” transitions have typically preserved separate domains (e.g., the security sector) for military decision-making; these reserved domains have limited the scope of democracy. This chapter, however, moves beyond military to ostensibly religious limitations on democracy, noting that, while nonreligious protests often figure in transitions away from authoritarian rule, religious constitutional provisions diminishing the rights of non-Muslims have produced what scholars of hybrid regimes call an “exclusionary” or “illiberal” democracy.
author_additional Cammett, Melani
author_additionalStr Cammett, Melani
format Book Chapters
author Nelson, Matthew J.
author_facet Nelson, Matthew J.
authorStr Nelson, Matthew J.
author_letter Nelson, Matthew J.
title Regime Types, Regime Transitions, and Religion in Pakistan
publisher Oxford University Press
publishDate 2022
url https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/39714/

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