Comparative Political Philosophy and Political Deliberation: an Exploration of Deliberative Practices in Pakistan

View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by LUISSearch Comparative Political Philosophy and Political Deliberation: An Exploration of Deliberative Practices in Pakistan By Irfan Muhammad A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy at LUISS Guido Carli University in Rome, Italy Research Supervisor Prof. Sebastiano Maffettone Rome, 2018 This page is intentionally left blank 2 Abstract This thesis attempts to explore deliberative practices in Pakistan. In doing so, it draws on and extends the literature produced under two relatively new academic fields—the fields of deliberative theory and comparative political philosophy—which are gaining prominence in the academic world. Although these two academic fields appear quite different but this thesis argues that they are not only complimentary but can also benefit each other in their further theoretical development. In order to show this complimentary relationship between deliberative theory and comparative political philosophy, this thesis explores deliberative practices in an authoritarian non-Western context. More specifically, it explores the role of deliberation in the democratization of Pakistan. This thesis analyzes the case of Pakistan Lawyers’ Movement during the military dictatorship (2007-2009) and how it paved the way to the process of democratization in the country. Although democratization of societies at large has always been at the core of deliberative theory, but comparative studies of democratization have completely missed the deliberative aspect which makes transition to democracy possible. Through Dryzek’s concept of deliberative capacity, this thesis investigates the role of Pakistan Lawyers’ Movement in building this capacity across different locations in the political system. The concept of deliberative capacity is being used in the larger context of systemic turn in deliberative theory. This latest trend helps us to study deliberation at a macro level and is not specifically tied to liberal institutional arrangements of states in the West. This thesis attempts to interpret Pakistan Lawyers’ Movement through the lens of deliberative theory. Pakistan Lawyers’ Movement throws new light on the normative aspects of deliberative theory and also helps us to understand the nature of deliberation in Pakistani 3 context. The case of Pakistan Lawyers’ Movement provokes reflection on normative principles of deliberative democracy, helps us understand the nature of deliberation in an authoritarian context, extends current scholarship on the comparative studies of democratization by spelling out the deliberative potential of the regime, and contributes to the ongoing debate on comparative political philosophy as an academic field in the age of globalization. 4 Acknowledgements I would like express my gratitude to my research supervisor Prof. Sebastiano Maffettone for his guidance and encouragement in completing this research project. I would also like to thank Dr. Domenico Melidoro and Dr. Volker Kaul for their valuable comments on various drafts of this thesis. I am also grateful to my other teachers at LUISS University who taught me some excellent courses during the first year. My gratitude is also due to Prof. Michael Haus for hosting me at Heidelberg University. My stay at Heidelberg was very helpful to develop key concepts of my doctoral research. Specifically, I am deeply indebted to Muhammad Ali Nasir who made critical comments on the chapters I wrote at Heidelberg University. I wish to thank my philosophy professors who taught me at Bachelors and Masters level. Not only did they teach me the history of philosophy but also enabled me to engage with meaningful questions facing our society today. I am also thankful to Muhammad Salman, Muhammad Saad, Marzia Raza, Zain, Shahray Jawed, Nawaz Brohi, Khalique, Ayaz Brohi, Irfan, Moonis Azad, Haroon, Paolo Pizzolo, Neha and Farhan for their support and encouragement in completing this dissertation. 5 This page is intentionally left blank 6 Table of Contents Abstract...................................................................................................................... 3 Acknowledgements .................................................................................................. 5 Chapter One: Introduction ...................................................................................... 9 1- Rationale and Theoretical Framework 12 2- Research Questions, Objectives and Methodology 23 3- Structure of the Thesis 25 Chapter Two: Comparative Political Philosophy ................................................ 28 1- Theoretical Foundations of Comparative Political Philosophy 29 (i) Gadamer’s Philosophical Hermeneutics 32 (ii) Fred Dallmayr: The Inauguration of Comparative Political Philosophy as an Academic Field 38 (iii) Roxanne Euben: Cross-Cultural Learning in Political Philosophy 43 2- Globalization, Deliberative Theory and Comparative Political Philosophy 46 Chapter Three: Political Deliberation and Normative Controversies in Deliberative Theory 56 1- The Minimal Definition of Political Deliberation 58 2- Normative Controversies in the Philosophical Literature 64 (i) Equal Participation 67 (ii) Rational Justification 69 (iii) The Principle of Mutual Respect 75 (iv) Consensus 78 (v) The Concept of Truthfulness 81 (vi) Conditions and Consequences of Deliberation 82 Chapter Four: Systemic Approach 86 1- Systemic Approach in Deliberative Theory 86 2- Systemic Approach and Deliberative Practices in Non-Western Contexts 97 Chapter Five: The Case of Pakistan Lawyers’ Movement 118 1- Historical Background 119 2- Phase-1: Supreme Court Prior to March 2007 122 3- Phase-2: Suspension of the Chief Justice 124 4- Phase-3: State of Emergency 127 5- Phase-4: Lawyers’ Movement During the Civilian Rule 131 7 Chapter Six: Deliberation and Democratization in the Non-Western Context: An Analysis of Pakistan Lawyers’ Movement 136 1- Theories of Democratization 137 (i)- Wave Theory 138 (ii)- Modernization Theory 142 (iii)- Historical Sociology 145 (iv)- Transition Perspective 148 (v)- The Neglect of Deliberation in Democratization and Social Movements Studies 150 2- Political Deliberation and Pakistan Lawyers’ Movement 153 (i)- Democratization and Pakistan Lawyers’ Movement 156 (ii)- The Emergence of Deliberative Capacity Under Authoritarian Rule 161 (iii)- Institutional Liberalism, Local Culture and Deliberation 175 Chapter Seven: Conclusions 182 1- Internal Skepticism among Deliberative Theorists: The Ignorance of Non- Western Contexts 184 2- Deliberation, Lawyers’ Movement and Politicization of the Public Sphere 187 3- Deliberative Capacity, Deliberative System and Democratization 190 4- Comparative Political Philosophy and Deliberative Theory 192 Bibliography 194 8 Chapter One Introduction “Only Connect!” —E. M. Forster, Howards End, 1910 “It is probably true quite generally that in the history of human thinking the most fruitful developments frequently take place at those points where two different lines of thought meet. These lines may have their roots in quite different parts of human culture, in different times or different cultural environments or different religious traditions: hence if they actually meet, that is, if they are at least so much related to each other that a real interaction can take place, then one may hope that new and interesting developments may follow.” —Werner Heisenberg in Capra, 1983 The United Nations Organization (UNO) designated 2001 to be the “year of dialogue among civilizations”1. This characterization captures our political predicament in the 21st century and also makes us realize the significance of pursuing inter-cultural dialogue in the current global 1 For details see United Nations Resolution 53/22, 4th November, 1998. Also see (Segesvary, 2000) and (Dallmayr, 2002). 9 age. Globalization has made our borders blurred and fluid. This transformation in boundaries calls for fluid thinking which is mostly possible through the exchange of new and innovative ideas. Through dialogic engagement we do not merely arrive at new ideas but can also connect diverse ideas which may seem unrelated. A genuine dialogue offers an opportunity to critically evaluate and rethink our most basic axioms about the nature of ‘self’ and the ‘other’. The critical moment in the dialogic engagement, which also depicts our global political condition, redefines the relationship between the ‘self’ and ‘other’. Indeed, an act of self-critique not only changes our self-understanding but it also changes our relationship to the unfamiliarr ‘other’. It means, an act of reinvestigating the ‘familiar’ necessarily involves the rethinking of the ‘alien’. The phenomenon of globalization requires us to indulge in meaningful communication so that we can renounce the ‘clash of civilizations’ myth through mutual dialogue and understanding. Academically, the influence of globalization can be seen almost in all spheres of human knowledge. It has also influenced two relatively new academic fields in political philosophy: (1) Theoretical accounts on deliberation and deliberative democracy which also opens the possibilities of conceiving democracy beyond the familiar institutions of state. (2) Comparative political philosophy which attempts to bring non- Western political thought into a dialogical conversation with the Western tradition of political theory. The concept of deliberation is essential to all types of political

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