What does it mean when the rules that had quietly structured political life until now are rendered obsolete? In FP’s latest print package, our writers and contributors survey the extent of the damage.
A new generation of voters has emerged in Pakistan who want to have the power to choose their own leaders, not leave the country in the hands of the military that has maintained a granitic grip on politics for most of its history, Omar Waraich writes.
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party seems to have broken the military’s stranglehold on political control, giving cause for some optimism about the future of Pakistan’s democracy, @MichaelKugelman writes.
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Above all, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party’s feat has crystallized voters’ capacity to overcome the military’s influence on politics and could embolden those calling for the military to take a back seat, @MichaelKugelman writes.
Although the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party’s surprising performance in the recent election damaged the military’s reputation and mystique, the military’s ability to influence the course of events remains intact.
Khan has broken the taboos of Pakistani politics. In doing so, he may have kicked off the beginnings of a digital democratic revolution, argues FP’s @AzeemIbrahim.