| ID | 135834 |
| Title Proper | Minorities and representation in a plural society |
| Other Title Information | the case of the Christians of Pakistan |
| Language | ENG |
| Author | Raina, Ajay K |
| Summary / Abstract (Note) | Human rights groups have documented the plight of Pakistan's religious minorities for years, but it is only recently that these minorities have become the focus of academic political science discourse. This discourse, however, borrows from a well-developed liberal literature on Pakistan's democratic instability that makes assumptions about the inclusiveness of democratic regimes and exclusivism of dictatorships—most notably that of General Zia-ul-Haq. On close scrutiny, these assumptions do not hold. In this paper, I evaluate the political capacities of minorities through an institutionalised assessment of the quantity and quality of minorities’ voices in an electoral–legislative framework. Such a model, in the context of a plural society, is more likely to better reflect the capacity of a minority's ability to withstand the tyranny of the majority, and assess the potential for its integration into the political mainstream. Towards this end, I analyse the demography–representation correlates of the Christian minority in Pakistan's federal legislatures since Independence in 1947. I argue that the institutionalised Christian presence has often been sub-proportionate, lacking in authority and leverage, and tokenistic. Finally, I suggest remedial measures to improve the efficacy of minority representation and political empowerment by adapting certain voting paradigms suggested by Lani Guinier. |
| `In' analytical Note | South Asia : Journal of South Asian Studies Vol.37, No.4; Dec.2014: p.684-699 |
| Journal Source | South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies 2014-12 37, 4 |
| Standard Number | Democracy |