Liberal Democracies and Populism by sir Rohail Nazir

Liberal Democracies and Populism

1. Liberal Democracies and
Populism

Rohail Nazir
44
th
CTP (CTG)

2. Liberal Democracy
•Democracy:
•Government of the people, by the people and for the people (Abraham
Lincoln)
•Liberty:
•Liberty of an individual is protected by limiting the power of the
government

3. Characteristics of Liberal Democracy
1.Regular elections between multiple political parties
2.Separation of power between legislature, judicature and executive
3.Rule of law
4.Market economy
1.Free movement of capital
2.Free movement of labour
3.Laissez faire (let it (economy/market) be)
5.Equality : Equal protection of human rights, civil rights, civil liberties
and political freedom for all including minorities and ideological
minorities
6.Free educational institutions (Dani Rodrik)

4. Challenges to Liberal Democracies
(William A. Goldstone)

1.External Challenges
1.Ethno-nationalist autocracies i.e the regimes/governments claiming to
be based on god’s will e.g Japan, Kingdom ships in Middle East etc
2.Strong meritocracies (Minorities is left behind in such strong-handed
meritocracies) e.g Singapore Political Meritocracy – People Action Party is
in government since 1965
3.China’s Market-Leninist system- China Model or Beijing Model (State
controlled capitalism)
2.Internal Challenges
1.Populism: drives a wedge between liberal institutions (free press,
Judicature etc) and democracy
2.Rise of the far right

5. Right and Left
•French Revolution: 1789
•Right Wing Political Parties stressed on the values of;(Party pf the King)
•Authority
•Hierarchy
•Order
•Duty to the State, Tradition (Status Quo)
•Reaction
•Nationalism
•Left Wing Political Parties believe in the values of ;(Party of the People)
•Freedom and Equality
•Fraternity
•Progress and Reform (Revolution)
•Internationalism (Globalization)

6. Reasons behind the Rise of Far-Right in the
World
(Cas Mudde Author of a Book “The Far Right Today”
1.Economic Anxiety
2.Cultural Backlash (Racism)
1.Economic anxiety translates through cultural and social fears
3.Neo-Liberalism

111 people have been killed in incidents related to Far-Right Terrorism
as compared to 104 people killed in Jihadist terrorism since 2002 to
2018 (New America)

7. Rise of the Far Right and Neo-Liberalism
Neo-Liberalism means free market capitalism, unregulated economy
and reduced government interventions
•Main characteristics
1.Free flow of labor across the sectors and regions
2.Free flow of money
3.No government intervention
•Possible Outcomes
1.Labour moves from low-wage countries to high wage countries and
displaces the native population from jobs by agreeing on low wages
2.Capital moves from capital abundant countries to capital scarce countries
as the markup on is high in capital scarce countries
3.Both results in unemployment among the natives (economic anxiety)

8. Natives and the Political Parties
•Natives have a right that migrants don’t
Voting Rights and every voter is a point of attention for the
politician/political party
•Politicians/political parties
•Just a reflection of the people, echo-champers of the people
•Political parties play on the popular sentiment of the people and
drumbeat their popular wishes

9. Populism and Populists (1)
•Populism is an appeal to the popular wishes and desires
•Common Playbook of the Populists
1.Anti-elitist i.e they call the elite materially and morally corrupt elite
2.Anti-pluralist (Non-inclusive)
1.We are the people, who are your (Tayeb Erdogan)
2.Muslim Ban of Trupm (2017)
3.Mass Clientelism (Pork and Barrel Politics)
1.Metro and orange buss service in Lahore and Peshawar
4.Oversimplify the issues
1.Populism is simple, democracy is complex (Ralf Dahrendorf)
2.Billion of dollars will come to Pakistan when IK assumes the office of PM

10. Populism and Populists (2)
5.Polarization of the Society
1.They Vs Us
2.Non-People, Vermin (Trump)
6.Discriminatory Legalism
1.For my friends, everything, for my enemies, the law (Viktor Orban)
2.Attack on Capitol Hill on January 6, 2021
7.Colonization of the State
1.Pakistan Electronic Crimes Act, 2016
2.Citizenship Amendment Act of India, 20197
8.Conspiracy Theories
1.Cypher Case
9.Politicizing the Institutions
1.Sorry Chief Justice John Robert, but you indeed have Obama judges (Trump)
2.Fake News, Judge-made-law (Trump)

11. Populism and Populists (3)
10.Misinformation and Propaganda
11.Popular references to Religion, culture and Middle-Class
Family Values
1.Yes to the natural family, no to the LGBT lobby, yes to sexual identity,
no to the gender ideology, no to Islamist violence, yes to the secure
borders and no to mass migration (Giorgia Meloni- PM of Italy
(Brothers of Italy Party)
12.Compromise Freedom of Expression
1.Leading jailor of journalist is Türkiye (Michael Abramowitz)
2.Indian journalist who are too critical of the government are subjected
to all out harassment and attack campaigns (Reporters Without
Borders)

12. How to Check (Address) Populism? (1)
1.Platform Designs
1.Plurality of opinions may be shown to the viewers
2.Fact-check platforms like Viewer added Context
3.Serendipity Buttons may be added to social media platform (Cass
Sunstein)
4.Frictions and Flooding (Margaret Roberts)
2.Internal Democracy in the political parties
3.Filling the Information Voids
4.Rule of Law
5.Democracy

13. How to Check Populism? (2)
Noberto Bobbio-Italian Theorist)
6.Individual Sovereignty
7.Political Representation
8.Equality (Inequality may be lowered)
9.Education
10.Transparency
11.Self-government
12.Tech skill development
Case in Point:
Otto-Driverless Trucks, Uber invested 680 m$, 3.5 million will get
unemployed

14. Populism and Judiciary
Populists cement their hold on power through constitutional
amendments which appear acceptable but actually help them
overcome legal / constitutional challenges.
Cases in Point
1.Hungary amended its constitution to restricts courts jurisdiction to
review legality of the constitutional amendments
2.Turkiye did court-packing by changing superannuation age of the
judges and promotion criteria
3.Bhutto changed the superannuation age
4.Current govt is doing pension reforms and might change
superannuation age of the jusges

15. Inherent Weaknesses of Judiciary
1.Suffers through a “counter-majoritarian dilemma” – Alexander
Bickel
2.“Neither (have) the purse nor the sword” – Felix Frankfurt
3.Juristocracy”- Transfer of unprecedented amount of power
from representative institutions to judiciary – Judicial Activism
4.Legitimacy Crisis
5.Politicization
6.Part and parcel of the society – Not immune to social
influences

16. Populism and Judiciary
“One of the far-reaching impact of populism tends to be its
politicization of every thing, including the institution one did not
previously think of in political terms” - Nick Friedman (The
Foundation of Law, Justice and Society)
Court has a sacred obligation to defend the Constitution. (Justice
Athar Minallah)
19
th
Amendment is contrary to the principles of judicial independence
(Justice Athar Minallah)
No court in the country commanded the authority or the power to
legislate except for what has been provided in the Constitution or the
law. This right is only vested in Parliament by the Constitution
(Supreme Court’s Judgement in Mubarik Ali Sani Case dated 25 July,
2024)

17. Last two decades have seen the rise of the right as a potent
challenge to liberal democracies throughout the world. What
are the causes of this rise and how can states attend to this
challenge (Question of CA, 2021)
Suggested Readings
1.Far Right Today (Cas Mudde)
2.Road to Unfreedom (Timothy D Snyder)
3.Annual Freedom Report by Freedom House
4.Freedom in the World Report
5.Democracy Report by V. Dem Institute, Sweden
6.Michael Ignatieff
7.Dani Rodrik

18. Modi could not secure majority in the
elections. Does it bode well for Pakistan-India
relations?
Modi’s polarizing politics did not secure as much votes as it
secured in the previous elections. This shows a change of mind
of the Indian people. Modi, being a politician might take a soft
stance on Pakistan to cash on this change. This would then result
in good relations between India and Pakistan.
Or
Modi’s did not secure a clear majority in the elections and it has
to face its coalition partners and opposition in this tenure. To
maintain a tight hold on power and keep opposition in rein, Modi
may adopt a more aggressive stance against Pakistan. This does
not bode well for Pak-India relations.