DefinePK

Abstract

Civilian supremacy is integral to any functioning democracy. The democratic progress of Pakistan has been long stunted by the enduring influence of military authority in political and economic affairs. Even though it has experienced multiple switches to civilian governments over the years, the establishment remained in the shadows behind these governments. India, on the other hand, has remained under civilian control since its independence, while Spain experienced a movement from prodemocracy under a military-backed authoritarian regime to a consolidated democracy through continuous legal, institutional, and cultural processes that have lasted more than three decades. This study examines the origins of civil-military imbalance in Pakistan, and aspirations drawn from India and Spain to outline a realistic pathway for Pakistan to achieve a stable form of civilian supremacy. The study aims to: (1) understand the historical and institutional context of military dominance in Pakistan; (2) understand how both India and Spain achieved and maintained (relative) civilian supremacy; and (3) recommend context-specific reforms that Pakistan might undertake that would limit military influence and empower the civilian state actors. The study relies on qualitative comparative case study methods using secondary data. The empirical analysis is framed around three theoretical perspectives Praetorianism, Objective Civilian Control, and Democratization Theory. The findings demonstrate that Pakistan's praetorian political culture is a result of legal loopholes, institutional weakness, and fragmented civilian authority, while India was able to provide constitutional safeguards, and a depoliticized military culture that prevented praetorianism. In Spain, the democratization process was carried out with elite consensus, empowered judiciary, symbolic leadership in the political/political sphere, and NATO/EU incentives, pointing to two quite different experiences of development of civilian authority. The study concludes that true civilian supremacy is possible in Pakistan; however, it requires significant institution building, legal reforms, political cohesiveness, and international support.