Open AccessDemocracy, Governance and Civil Society in South Asia (The Distinguishedl Lecture)
Author(s) -
Gowher Rizvi
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
pakistan development review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.154
H-Index - 26
ISSN - 0030-9729
DOI - 10.30541/v33i4ipp.593-624
Subject(s) - democracy , authoritarianism , mandate , civil society , politics , political science , accountability , corporate governance , damages , legitimacy , development economics , political economy , south asia , law , sociology , economics , ethnology , finance
Six years ago, at the start of 1988, the prospect fordemocracy in South Asia did not appear very promising. The militaryrulers both in Pakistan and Bangladesh had managed to cloak theirregimes in civilian attire and appeared well entrenched even if theirquest for legitimacy had evaded them. In Nepal and Bhutan the hereditarymonarchs showed no signs of conceding to the demands for popularparticipation despite the simmering political discontent in bothcountries. The democratic traditions of Sri Lanka had provedsufficiently resilient for the formal representative institutions toendure but the continued civil strife and violence had virtually reducedeffective popular participation into a farce. Likewise in India, whilstthe ghost of Indira Gandhi's authoritarian rule during the emergency in1975-77 had been exorcised by subsequent renewals of popular mandate,the democratic institutions and popular accountability had probablysuffered irreversible damages and it was not uncommon amongst politicalanalysts to speak of the 'ungovernability' of the country.