Abstract/Description
Pakistan is no stranger to the union of authoritarianism with its economic decision-making. From the grand designs of Ayub Khan’s industrialization to Bhutto’s nationalization to Zia’s privatization, the country has been practically a laboratory of authoritarian experimentation over nature and the processes of the national economy. However, certain ideas have been coherent throughout time and space when it comes to the fusion of authoritarian law, arbitrary power, and economic decisions. These ideas have historically shaped the fusion of authoritarian power with economic decisions in the country. Resultantly, the authoritarian legality approach establishes a Dual-State in Pakistan by undermining normative processes of law and economic decision-making and empowering prerogative socio-legalist approaches in governing methodology about economics. The present research draws upon this history to inquire how the formation of the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) builds upon the legacy of using law as a wielding instrument to fuse authoritarian power in shaping and imposing economic decisions that are devoid of democratic political legitimacy and cross-societal parliamentary and civil representation, and founded on the elements of arbitrary power, executive authority, and coercive violence. These elements serve as the foundation for the ideas that structure the relationship between authoritarian legalism, arbitrary power, and economic decisions.
Keywords
Authoritarian Legalism, Dual State, SIFC, Arbitrary Power, Economic Decisionmaking, Executive Authority
Location
S2 room, Adamjee building
Session Theme
Institutions and Economics
Session Type
Parallel Technical Session
Session Chair
Anwar Shah, Quaid-i-Azam University
Session Discussant
Adnan Haider, Institute of Business Administration ; Muhammad Sabir, Institute of Business Administration
Start Date
10-12-2024 3:15 PM
End Date
10-12-2024 5:15 PM
Recommended Citation
Zaheer, H. (2024). Authoritarian Legality of SIFC: An Inquiry into the Dual State and Economic Decision making in Pakistan. CBER Conference. Retrieved from https://ir.iba.edu.pk/esdcber/2024/program/25
Authoritarian Legality of SIFC: An Inquiry into the Dual State and Economic Decision making in Pakistan
S2 room, Adamjee building
Pakistan is no stranger to the union of authoritarianism with its economic decision-making. From the grand designs of Ayub Khan’s industrialization to Bhutto’s nationalization to Zia’s privatization, the country has been practically a laboratory of authoritarian experimentation over nature and the processes of the national economy. However, certain ideas have been coherent throughout time and space when it comes to the fusion of authoritarian law, arbitrary power, and economic decisions. These ideas have historically shaped the fusion of authoritarian power with economic decisions in the country. Resultantly, the authoritarian legality approach establishes a Dual-State in Pakistan by undermining normative processes of law and economic decision-making and empowering prerogative socio-legalist approaches in governing methodology about economics. The present research draws upon this history to inquire how the formation of the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) builds upon the legacy of using law as a wielding instrument to fuse authoritarian power in shaping and imposing economic decisions that are devoid of democratic political legitimacy and cross-societal parliamentary and civil representation, and founded on the elements of arbitrary power, executive authority, and coercive violence. These elements serve as the foundation for the ideas that structure the relationship between authoritarian legalism, arbitrary power, and economic decisions.