Delusive Semblance of Democracy: CPEC, Military and The Latest Truncation of Democratic Transition in Pakistan

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Abstract

"The first ‘regular’ transfer of power between two civilian governments in Pakistan manifested itself in the aftermath of the 2013 general elections. Many celebrated this shift as a positive sign of democratic consolidation. However, the appreciation of this allegedly ‘new democratic wave’ ignores the resilience of decade-old authoritarian and anti-democratic patterns. The military still dominates all significant political decision-making processes. Furthermore, due to certain requirements (to ensure security, stability and national consensus) for the implementation of the China-Pakistan-Economic Corridor (CPEC), a multi-billion USD development project, the soldiers were able to further entrench their formal role in the political-institutional setup. This seriously challenges the notion of civilian supremacy, which is unfortunate, since civilian control of the armed forces is a necessary constituent for democracy and democratic consolidation. As such one can state, that in order to guarantee a secure environment for the CPEC development, the military is expanding its power. This phenomenon significantly affects negatively the country’s already unhealthily civil-military relations and civilian control over the military, while challenging the process of democratic transition initiated by the 2013 general elections."