The Socio-Political Analysis of Transformation from Military to Civilian Rule in Pakistan: 2002-08

Abstract

The intervention of military in political set up of state is a common phenomenon in third world states. Weak political institutions in developing polities paved the way for military intervention in political process of state. It is seen in study that whenever military takeover the charge of a state, it has to face the crisis of legitimacy. Legitimacy is the legal right to rule. Many political strategies are adopted by the military rulers to gain legitimacy and recognition for their rule at national and international level. After securing their political future, socio-political and economic reforms are introduced commonly to uplift the society. The special focus of this paper will be the era of General Musharraf, the major socio-political transformational policies adopted by him with their consequent results. The study reveals that transformational strategies adopted by General Musharraf are short-termed and cosmetic in nature, which did not contribute positively to make state institutions strong and stable. The success of every political system lies in the capacity building of strong civilian institutions and the level of legitimacy they enjoyed