A Comparative Study of the Recent Political Trends of Pakistan and Bangladesh that Fluctuate between Democracy and Autocracy

Abstract

South Asian politics, which involves India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Maldives and Bhutan, is a significant area in the field of international politics. These countries that were under the British rule for a considerable period of time consists of certain colonial political traditions they inherited, and with the decolonization these countries have faced several issues in terms of economy, politics and society. As far as these political issues are concerned, establishment of democracy is observed to be under a very weak and slow process; the political power is often seen fluctuating between democracy and Autocracy. The conflicts between democracy and Autocracy are not unprecedented in the world history, and at one instance, the democracy wins and at the other, the Autocracy wins. Weak democracy getting swiftly transformed into Autocracy, and later Autocracy gradually being replaced by democracy, which once again becomes weak and getting transformed into Autocracy happens as a circle.  Therefore, the present study examined as to, in terms of Pakistan and Bangladesh, the causes behind the exchange of power between democracy and military for a long time in history and the reasons as to why this trend has changed after 2008 which made democratic governments last longer than before. In addition, nationalism, secularism and the social and legal background of these countries in the light of establishing democracy are also to be examined in the research. The research was conducted using secondary resources and it was revealed that in both these states, Islamic social system and the religious values have been significant influences in transforming democracy into Autocracy. Due to the strong bond with the religion, these states are incapable of achieving a fully furnished democracy, for the religious authority has diffused into the social system and then into the politics. Moreover, as a result of the less evolved political culture, the civil society has become unstable, and they tend to believe that military is the solution to stabilize the unstable social system. Hence, when a military system takes over, no revolution in the social system can be identified. However, after 2008, this situation has unexpectedly changed as a result of the influence of international politics, human rights, attraction of the civil leaders and the rise of social media. Nevertheless, the problem that although these states have not changed into a military system, Autocracy being still found within the democracy.

South Asian politics, which involves India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Maldives and Bhutan, is a significant area in the field of international politics. These countries that were under the British rule for a considerable period of time consists of certain colonial political traditions they inherited, and with the decolonization these countries have faced several issues in terms of economy, politics and society. As far as these political issues are concerned, establishment of democracy is observed to be under a very weak and slow process; the political power is often seen fluctuating between democracy and Autocracy. The conflicts between democracy and Autocracy are not unprecedented in the world history, and at one instance, the democracy wins and at the other, the Autocracy wins. Weak democracy getting swiftly transformed into Autocracy, and later Autocracy gradually being replaced by democracy, which once again becomes weak and getting transformed into Autocracy happens as a circle.  Therefore, the present study examined as to, in terms of Pakistan and Bangladesh, the causes behind the exchange of power between democracy and military for a long time in history and the reasons as to why this trend has changed after 2008 which made democratic governments last longer than before. In addition, nationalism, secularism and the social and legal background of these countries in the light of establishing democracy are also to be examined in the research. The research was conducted using secondary resources and it was revealed that in both these states, Islamic social system and the religious values have been significant influences in transforming democracy into Autocracy. Due to the strong bond with the religion, these states are incapable of achieving a fully furnished democracy, for the religious authority has diffused into the social system and then into the politics. Moreover, as a result of the less evolved political culture, the civil society has become unstable, and they tend to believe that military is the solution to stabilize the unstable social system. Hence, when a military system takes over, no revolution in the social system can be identified. However, after 2008, this situation has unexpectedly changed as a result of the influence of international politics, human rights, attraction of the civil leaders and the rise of social media. Nevertheless, the problem that although these states have not changed into a military system, Autocracy being still found within the democracy.