Governance and Human Security

Mr. Anjum, you are needlessly making things too complex. What you need for development is a self-sustaining system, proper checks and balances, orderly transition of power and a place at the table for all stakeholders. Thats the basic requirement for the long-term successful administration of a nation, whether it is a democratic or a communist system. Each society tries to figure out what works to accomplish the above. Western countries, the far east and India have chosen democracy as the vehicle to accomplish the above. China has chosen communism, while Islamic and African countries basically have monarchies.

Whenever the above requirements are violated, you have chaos, confusion, uncertainty and large scale violence. For e.g. Pakistan is a mess not because it is extremely poor, but because it does not have a proper system of transitioning power, there are zero checks and balances and most stakeholders have no say in the system. India has all the above except for the stakeholders bit, which is why its economic progress has been poor relative to its potential. You can see that changing as the backward castes are beginning to grab power and get a greater share of the spoils. Today everyone from brahmins to dalits are desperate to get their kids educated and put them into white-collar jobs.

The success of China is the biggest proof of my thesis. China has indeed given all its stakeholders a place at the table. Also it has created a stable political system with smooth transition of power. As a result, no one seems to really care about democracy as long as they are getting rich and living the good life.