Democracy vs Dictatorship: Unpacking Pakistan’s Power Structure - Dr. Ilhan Niaz - #TPE 328

The Pakistan Experience

Dr. Ilhan Niaz comes on The Pakistan Experience to discuss the Political System of Pakistan, on this deep dive podcast we talk about Democracy, Dictatorship, Civil Service, The Establishment, Learning from Africa, Cuba, Nehru and more. https://youtu.be/66X3mV147JQ?si=CjhmcvyH6IGxQx-e Dr. Ilhan Niaz is the author of several books including The State During the British the Raj: Imperial Governance in South Asia, 1700-1947 (Oxford University Press, 2019), Old World Empires: Cultures of Power and Governance in Eurasia (New York: Routledge, 2014; South Asia edition by OUP), The Culture of Power and Governance of Pakistan, 1947–2008 (OUP, 2010), and An Inquiry into the Culture of Power of the Subcontinent (Islamabad: Al- hamra, 2006). His work has been published in leading international academic journals in- cluding The Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, Asian Affairs, Asian Profile, The New Zea- land Journal of Asian Studies, South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies, and The Journal of South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies. He also occasionally contributes articles and reviews to leading national news publications. The Culture of Power and Governance of Pakistan was awarded the Best Non-Fiction Book of 2010 at the Karachi Literature Festival and has also received the Higher Education Commission (HEC) of Pakistan award for Best Book in Social Sciences, Arts, and Humanities for 2010. Old World Empires: Cultures of Power and Governance in Eurasia received the HEC national award for Best Book Publica- tion in Social Sciences, 2013–14. Niaz is also the recipient of the Kodikara Award for 2013 (RCSS, Colombo). He is presently working on the manuscript of his next book, New World Empires: Cultures of Power and Governance in the Americas, presently accepted by Rout- ledge. Niaz is Associate Professor of History at the Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad. The Pakistan Experience is an independently produced podcast looking to tell stories about Pakistan through conversations. Please consider supporting us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thepakistanexperience To support the channel: Jazzcash/Easypaisa - 0325 -2982912 Patreon.com/thepakistanexperience And Please stay in touch: https://twitter.com/ThePakistanExp1 https://www.facebook.com/thepakistanexperience https://instagram.com/thepakistanexpeperience The podcast is hosted by comedian and writer, Shehzad Ghias Shaikh. Shehzad is a Fulbright scholar with a Masters in Theatre from Brooklyn College. He is also one of the foremost Stand-up comedians in Pakistan and frequently writes for numerous publications. Instagram.com/shehzadghiasshaikh Facebook.com/Shehzadghias/ Twitter.com/shehzad89 Chapters 0:00 Introduction 1:30 What Pakistan can learn from African Countries 5:07 Democracy vs Dictatorship in Pakistan 18:45 Pakistan’s Civil Service and failures of the Political Class 30:14 Political acumen of the initial Political Class 42:46 Political Elite in Post Colonial States and East Pakistan Leadership 51:20 Establishment Politics vs Popular leaders 59:50 What did Nehru get right 1:06:08 What can Pakistan learn from South America 1:15:20 Decolonization and Nationalism 1:20:00 What is Cuba doing right 1:26:21 Audience Questions