Elite Political Culture and Cosmopolitanism; A case study of Pakistan (2008-2018)

Abstract

Each state seeks solidarity and stability by ensuring unity and harmony among the socio-cultural and political segments within its territorial jurisdiction. This study looks at the elite political culture in Pakistan that has been highly criticized for stimulating social complexities by proliferating numerous sorts of political, ethnic, religious/sectarian, or linguistic differences. From 1999 to 2007, when a new class of political elites emerged on the surface of electoral politics as the results of ‘Devolution Plan 2000’, ‘condition of graduation for public representatives’ and ‘17th amendment’ under the slogan of “Pakistan First”; some court verdicts and constitutional engineering during PPP’s third rule upturned respective fruits by bringing back the former elite political culture or traditional elitism as the biggest opposition to populism, political egalitarianism, and democratic liberalism. Therefore, this study conducts a comparative study of PPP and PML(N) regimes (2008-2013 2013-2018 respectively) to find out the correlation between elite political culture and political system that is directly proportional to cosmopolitanism. This comparison assists the study to investigate the contributions of post-18th amendment elite political culture to the problematics of democracy during an addressed decade in Pakistan.