Application of consociational theory in the political system of Pakistan from 2008-2013

This study aims to investigate the application of consociational political strategies during the tenure of the Pakistan People’s Party’s Regime from 2008 to 2013. We question the conventional wisdom claimed by different political analysts that, being a heterogeneous society divided into different social segments, consociational theory cannot solve segmental issues in Pakistan. We argue consociational strategy is not irrelevant to Pakistan. The political system of Pakistan experienced a drastic transformation in attitude, style of politics, and even preferences of political elites in the post-Charter of Democracy’s political environment. The leadership of the PPP successfully materialised different aspects of consensual democracy, such as the grand coalition, the supremacy of parliament, segmental autonomy, and proportionality, during its five-year tenure. We also argue that the regime strengthens the parliament and political parties, which are the fundamentals of consociational strategy. The research is qualitative by nature, and a descriptive approach and interpretive methods have been adopted to answer the research puzzles.