Paper short abstract:

This paper attempts to explain the reproduction of autocratic and undemocratic modes of politics in urban Pakistan despite the deepening of practices assocated with procedural democracy

Paper long abstract:

This paper explores the emergence and entrenchment of the bazaar bourgeoisie and its influence on political and social inequality in contemporary Pakistan. The principle argument presented is that the gradual opening up of institutional spaces for representation and contestation have not allowed for the emergence of a truly democratic politics structured along class lines, except for a brief period in the late 60s and early 70s. Politics is still largely autocratic, controlled by vertical patron-client linkages, and political parties exhibit elite characteristics in terms of policy preferences and candidate recruitment. Nonetheless, this autocratic political project has been successful in generating 'consent' from below.

This is where the role of an emergent bazaar middle class (also labelled as the intermediate class in other South Asian contexts) - one that has grown under an era of economic restructuring and liberalization - is crucial. As intermediaries and brokers, often exercising collective influence in the political, economic, and cultural realm through bazaar and mosque associations, they help in the implementation and management of elite hegemony, and curtail possibilities of mobilization amongst the popular classes. This phenomenon has also been witnessed and studied in other contexts such as India, Turkey, and Argentina.

The research is based on 8 months of fieldwork, involving interviews, observations, and news documentation in urban Punjab - the most populated and politically important province in Pakistan.