Fragile states, decentralisation and the nature of barriers to citizen participation in local government: a view from Pakistan

Aijaz Ali

doi:10.1007/s43545-021-00308-1

Abstract

The purpose of decentralisation reforms is to narrow the gap between the public and government and increase public participation in decision-making. However, empirical evidence from developing countries suggests otherwise. A case in point is Pakistan, even though it has a well-structured local government system consisting of three levels of government, district, tehsil and union councils. Nevertheless, Pakistan’s nascent but fragile democracy and the non-democratic nature of decision-making at the state level prevent public participation and as a result do not remove but rather create obstacles to citizens’ involvement in service delivery. This paper therefore argues that citizen participation in Pakistan’s local government system faces more barriers which are imposed by the centralised state rather than removing hurdles to community participation. I demonstrate that having well-structured local governments is not enough for community engagement instead of a nation-state’s strong commitment to pro-community participation. The aim of this study is to identify and examine the barriers to public participation and how they prevent participation in the local government service delivery process, especially when non-democratic countries such as Pakistan introduce local government reforms. A qualitative study was carried out with a questionnaire containing seven open-ended qualitative questions. The thematically analysed results show that the military establishment introduced local government systems which have used local governments to suppress community autonomy and prevent community participation. As there is a patron/client relationship between the central government of Pakistan and the feudal lords and local elites, local elites have indulged in corruption and favouritism which hinder public participation at the grassroots level in the local governments in the province of Sindh, in Pakistan.

Highlights

Community participation in policy-making and local government is one of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
The findings were sub-categorised as follows: (1) alienation caused by the increasing gap between citizens and local authorities; (2) local community participation was discouraged in order to hide illegal uses of available public funds; (3) the local population was not involved with the purpose of giving favour only to local government officials’ people and area; and (4)
Barriers hindering community participation in local government do not place a value on public opinion

Summary

Introduction

Community participation in policy-making and local government is one of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Even some non-democratic regimes introduced local government reforms with lofty claims of promoting public participation in decision-making and in the distribution of resources. An example of this was the Devolution Power Plan 2001 introduced by General Musharraf, president of Pakistan after his military coup in 1999. A local government system does not necessarily contribute positively to service delivery and community participation. Various local government reforms have been manipulated by distrust of and interference from the central authorities (Clausen 2020; Crook and Manor 1998; Gaynor 2014). This article explores and examines the barriers to citizen participation in the local government system and their impact on service delivery in Pakistan’s Sindh province

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Conclusion