Abstract
Contemporary discourse on civil society asserts democracy as a precondition for a successful working of civil society and a vibrant civil society for a smooth working of democracy. Yet there have been exceptions. On one hand some predominantly authoritarian regimes around the world are said to have harbored vibrant civil societies such as some countries of East Asia and Latin America. In this context, this paper overviews the growth and development of civil society in Pakistan during the rule of two military dictators in Pakistan viz. Ayub Khan (1958-1969) and Zia-ul-Haq (1977-1988) in the light of state-civil society models of conflict and coordination. It further seeks to explore: How those dictators treated the civil society in Pakistan? What was the response of civil society towards the dictatorial rule? And can we draw some parallels in the working of this nexus during the two eras?
Highlights
Contemporary discourse on civil society asserts democracy as a precondition for a successful working of civil society and a vibrant civil society for a smooth working of democracy
It further seeks to explore: How those dictators treated the civil society in Pakistan? What was the response of civil society towards the dictatorial rule? And can we draw some parallels in the working of this nexus during the two eras?
Harold Gould asserts that the civil society ‘failed in Pakistan because political power quickly lapsed into the hands of a coterie of generals, mullahs, landlords and bureaucrats who hijacked the tremulous beginnings of popular government and opted instead for military dictatorship legitimized by ideological jingoism’
Summary
Contemporary discourse on civil society asserts democracy as a precondition for a successful working of civil society and a vibrant civil society for a smooth working of democracy. In this context, this paper overviews the growth and development of civil society in Pakistan during the rule of two military dictators in Pakistan viz. Ayub Khan (1958-1969) and Zia-ul-Haq (1977-1988) in the light of statecivil society models of conflict and coordination. At least some types of civil society organizations have known to enjoy patronage of dictators In this context the paper in divided into three sections: the first being a literary overview of the concept and conditions of civil society under authoritarian regimes as studied by some scholars with respect to various regions of the world; The second and third sections explore the working of civil society and the challenges it faced under the two military regimes in Pakistan.
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