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Conflicts and democracies

The recent game of death and destruction in Afghanistan has raised a number of questions for Pakistan, the region and the world. The clashes between Afghan forces and the Taliban…

Time to fix errant democracies

THEY can chop journalists into pieces in Saudi Arabia and pour acid on the remains to wipe out all traces of the crime. Should that prompt our struggling democracies to…

From Empires To Democracies

From empires to democracies

There are multiple reasons for the gradual failure of almost all state institutions in Pakistan. But the more alarming thing is the attitude of our society. One argument that is…

From Empires To Democracies: Part-I

From empires to democracies: Part-I

The age of empires is gone, and empires have been replaced by ‘big powers’, which are mostly democracies. The simplest definition of democracy is: holding elections at certain intervals (four…

A Tale Of Two ‘democracies’

A tale of two ‘democracies’

We have justifiably taken pride in our march towards building representative institutions; developing systems that are a product of complex human experiences; and organising societies marked by moral, political and…

Residual Democracies, Wages Of Hate

Residual democracies, wages of hate

Feed a monster and there is every danger of you ending up as its fodder. What makes the killing of yet another Indian techie in the US last week –…

‘Democratic’ ethnic cleansing

THE discourse on democracy in the West — in particular — is self-congratulatory, and other systems that have delivered hundreds of millions of people out of poverty, hunger, illness, illiteracy…

Poor nation, rich lifestyles

A question that arises in every thinking mind is whether we are a developed nation, developing nation or a poor nation that barely managed to return from the edge of…

Myth of separation

The idea of separation of powers is often hailed as a foundational principle of modern governance, but it doesn’t necessarily focus on empowering ordinary citizens. At its core, it’s about…