Session 4 - Oligarchy Within a State

Analysis of state functions and powers is fundamental to understanding why Pakistan faces many of the problems it does today.

 Firstly, as discussed by Ayesha Jalal, there exists a bureaucratic-military oligarchy within the state of Pakistan. What this results in is the absence of the state functioning as an umpire or referee in society as the pluralist state is believed to act as. Rather the state accommodates the needs and wants of members of this oligarchy and therefore the needs of the public at large are, more often than not, marginalized.

Furthermore, this also leads to power being concentrated in the hands of a few within the state itself, and therefore the state organization as a whole becomes weak. The state is unable to act as the leviathan, which it usually assumes the role of, and this is the fundamental reason the state of Pakistan is unable to progress and develop at a rapid pace.

Secondly, there is little sense of direction in which the state works because there has, over time, developed confusion between the functions of different institutions within the state. Andrew Heywood in his book Politics refers to the government as “the brains” of the state. However, in Pakistan, during military regimes, the military is the one that functions as the brains as well as the power of the state. In such a situation, the military, a fundamental part of the state is unable to perform either of the two roles properly and this leads to anarchy within the state, which translates into wider anarchy in the county.

If Pakistan’s problems are to be solved, organs of the state need to realize their respective duties and these organs need to keep checks and balances on the power of other organs within the state so hand no monopoly or oligarchy is formed. It is only when this happens that the state will be able to function properly and have a clear sense of direction.