Development is a gradual and
long run process with certain prerequisites. “Development requires a
transformation of society” (Stiglitz 2002). History of developed countries
stands witness to it. Origins of democracy and rule of law in Great Britain can
be traced to Magna Carta in 13th century, while it experienced industrial
revolution only in 18 Th century. Political institutions help in the
transformation of society and creation of enabling environment. “Institutions
and public policies determine the opportunities for economic growth (Oslon M Jr
1996).”
Good governance depends on availability of effective and efficient institutions.
Malthus has enumerated four institutions for economic growth which include
property rights, rule of law, responsible government and universal education.
Pakistan has all these factors of growth but due to perpetual political
instability they are neither efficient nor effective. Political instability
breeds insecurity which is fatal to growth process. Strong institutions can help
to overcome the problem by providing required continuity.
Institutions originate from voluntary participation and consensus of the members
of the society. The best known method of ensuring participation is democratic
government installed through fair and free elections. Role of effective
government is increasingly thought to be central to economic development.
“Development – economic, social and sustainable –without an effective state is
impossible”. (The World Development Report 1997) Governments are more effective
when they are democratic and participative. Hence more democratic a government
more suited to development process, it will be.
Pakistan has a dismal record in promotion of political institutions and
democratic norms. Fragility of democratic system in Pakistan, along with other
reasons, is a direct outcome of weaknesses of political parties. Political
parties represent the collective wisdom of a society which takes shape through
continuous political process and is expressed through ballot. Role of political
parties both as mentors and advocates of public opinion is important for a
democratic system. “Political parties have come to be seen as a sine qua non for
the organization of the democratic polity” (Beinzen 2005). They are both agents
of change and instruments of stability. They bring stability to system and
affect changes in norms and policies. Political parties are breeding grounds and
training schools for future decision makers, the political leaders.
Unfortunately this important instrument of political system can not grow in
Pakistan.
A number of reasons have hampered growth of political parties in Pakistan. The
most important reason is continual derailment of political process. As a result
parties are created internally and have the top-down structure. They represent
interests instead of ideologies. Most of the time parties are just put together
to share bits of power. Non-party elections by the dictatorships not only
weakened political parties but also are instrumental in introducing evils like
corruption, nepotism and regionalism in electioneering. Parties represent
regional, sectarian and lingual interests. National character is missing. Due to
these inherent weaknesses political parties are unable to act as custodians of
democratic process. This, in fact, is a vicious circle in which weak political
parties are both a cause and affect of unstable democratic process. In order to
break the vicious circle a virtuous circle of representative organization will
have to be initiated in which political parties, NGOs and other civil society
organizations will interact to make the system of government more participative.
Recent laws like compulsory elections within parties, declaration of assets and
defection laws will be helpful in strengthening political parties. Introduction
of proportional system of voting can also be helpful in this regard.
Strong political parties with solid power base in masses can play the role of
watch dog against any intervention in democratic process. They can be potential
instruments of accountability against corruption of public officials and
politicians. Elections provide a mechanism for vertical accountability whereas
political parties and institutional separation of powers provide a mechanism for
horizontal accountability. Parties promote a culture of power sharing.
Institutionalized division of decision making powers help to reduce the risk of
arbitrary policy actions, gives continuity to policies, enhances the ability to
tackle the problems and improves the adaptability of policy management (Maclntyre
2003).
In essence strong political parties promote workable democratic culture. Stable
democratic culture increases efficiency and effectiveness of political
institutions which is vital for growth process.
References
Beinzen I 2005, ‘On the theory and practice of party formation and adaptation in
new democracies’, European Journal of Political Research 44:pp.147-174
Maclntyre A 2003, ‘The power of institutions, political architecture and
governance,
Cornell University Press, Ithaca.
Mill J as quoted in Arndt H, ‘Economic development history of an idea’,
p.26
Olson M 1996, ‘Big bills on the sidewalk: why some nations are rich, and others
poor’,
Journal of Economic Perspectives, vol10, no2, pp.3-24
Stiglitz J 2002, ‘Globalization and its discontents’, W.W.Norton & company,
USA
The state in a changing world - see World Development Report 1997.