Non-consociational Federalism and Ethnic Strife in Pakistan

Abstract

<p>Consociational federalism has been regarded a viable solution for such plural societies where the segments of a society are geographically concentrated. But contrary to conventional wisdom, the consociational arrangements seem irrelevant to the Pakistani case. The absence of consociational features in the Pakistani federation does not contribute in the rise and fall of ethnic conflict. Equally, the evidence shows that it is the centralisation of political power that limits the capacity of Pakistani federation to manage ethnic diversity.</p

What Do We Know about Power Sharing after 50 Years?

“…To summarize, while many studies covered in this review evoke the importance of favourable factors, only 20 out of 373 articles exclusively focus on how favourable factors shape power sharing. Without exception, they are all either single case studies such as on Pakistan (Mushtaq et al 2011) and Rwanda (Njoku 2005) or small-N comparisons (Lemarchand 2007; Schneckener 2002). Unpacking the structural roots of power sharing would increase the theory's predictive power (Bogaards 1998).…”