“The people . . . begin to be tired of an excess of democracy” –Alexander Hamilton, June 19, 1787, The Records of the Federal Convention of 1787.
Pakistan has recently seen a proliferation of different kinds of protests- the so-called Dharnas. Characterised by more rigid stances and new techniques of pressure politics against the elected governments, these uprisings have not only become dangerously random rather the involvement of political parties in such riot-bent on challenging the writ of elected governments- is particularly concerning.
The practice of mobocracy is not new to political history. The populace have always resorted to disorder, whenever discontent or dissatisfied with their rulers or governance. The earliest accounts of mobocracy could be traced to ancient Rome where lapses of governance culminated into extreme cases of chaos even at times killing of state officials. Death of Clarendon is one such instance where the ruler of Rome succumbed to public protests sanctioning the killing of state officials. Also, Mobocracy is not always devoid of positive outcomes. Riots may be organised for purging a system from deviance or foreign intrusion. Many revolutions in history are replete with examples of such riots. For instance, the French revolution was followed by dramatic political changes. The public gatherings under the Arab Spring successfully built pressure on autocratic governments leading to swift political changes in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya. However, it is very important to observe that all these riots and uprisings were staged against autocratic states, where no democratic modes of political communication by the public existed.
The rising trend of obstructive pressure politics in democratic setups however is utmost worrying. Practice of mobocracy in democratic states was never rampant before as of recently, at times even successful to the extent of throwing elected governments
The rising trend of obstructive pressure politics in democratic setups, however, is of utmost worrying. The practice of mobocracy in democratic states was never rampant before as of recently, at times even successful to the extent of throwing elected governments. Three-Week long opposition-led street protests in the Maldives lead to the resignation of President Nasheed in February 2012. In Egypt, street protests against elected President Morsi followed by a coup overthrew the government in 2013. An elected president in Ukraine was forced to resign, upon taking hostage of Kiev by protestors for months in 2014. Looting and violence in Ferguson and Missouri in 2014were other episodes highlighting challenges? for even big democracies, to appease such pressure groups. In Pakistan, the principal opposition party leader PTI took to the streets on several occasions during the rule of the last government. Another political party (PAT) staged sit-in lasting for more than a month agitating against the ruling party. Towards the end of 2017, Tehreek-e-Labaik Ya Rasool Allah (TLRY) leadership has reaped it and the law minister resigned following the storming of the capital city and attack on the house of the former interior minister by the enraged protestors. Now the opposition parties are once again gathering under the Maulana Fazalur Rehman’s so-called ‘Azadi March’.
Democracy thus suffers from the post-modernity challenges, coming from an optimistically demanding group/mob. Modern communication technologies are partly responsible for this shift in political communication. Mobs in democratic states may refuse to use free speech zones for their movements and thus may demonstrate at critical zones causing significant inconvenience to the people around. These sporadic interventions by citizens indicate a serious threat to the ballot box, making the task of democratic governance more difficult than ever before.
A dangerous precedent has been set. Confronted with an increasingly divided society, Pakistan can face enormous challenges for dealing with such mobs in the days ahead. However, the reign of passion over reason should not be allowed to undermine statecraft. If left unaddressed, it will keep haunting the democracy every now and again.
The writer is a research officer at the Institute of Policy Studies, Islamabad