Decentralisation by military regimes and challenges to citizen participation: an empirical reflection from Pakistan

Abstract

It is often assumed that in developing countries there is a substantial link between the local governments and community participation. However, what is hardly ever highlighted is what happens when an authoritarian government uses decentralisation reforms to strengthen its power, interfering with not only public development but also the international community. On that account, this study argues that if an authoritarian regime focuses on using elaborate façades of representative institutions such as local government reforms rather than trusting the persuasive force of representative institutions, the local governments of a non-democratic centralised state will have similar authoritarian policies towards civic engagement. The study was based on fieldwork research and the data obtained from the responses to seventy qualitative questionnaires with seven open-ended questions in two districts of Sindh. The findings suggest that the various local governments of Pakistan acted as a medium of recentralisation and created alienation instead of bringing the marginalised communities closer to local power. This article shows that if local governments are used by an authoritarian regime with the purpose of misleading the international community and stifling development, such a system will create alienation between the state and the ordinary citizens.