Veto players are any institution or actor whose agreement is necessary to
change the status quo (Clark et al. 2017; Tsebelis, 1995). The biggest veto
player is the military, which highlights again the anocratic regime of Pakistan,
as the military does not comfortable fit into the categories of institutional or
partisan veto players (Paul, 2014). An institutional veto player is one that is
fixed into the constitution, like the president, senate and judiciary (Pakistan,
2012). Partisan veto players are variable, created by political competition, like
political parties, particularly if the oppositional majority as a result of a minority
government, or members have defected from the controlling party (Clark et al.
2017).
Pakistan has all the features needed for democratic emergence and survival.
Her political elements; constitution, electoral system, party system and political
institutions, are principally cogent. Without the military interference and
established internal political corruption, she would likely prosper as a
democracy (Giunchi, 2014). More recently, we have seen corruption be tackled
through democratic avenues; the vote of no confidence of Khan and the judicial
scrutiny of the ECP. Additionally, Khan’s societal mobilisation against the
military could be the catalyst needed, but military control and its ever-present
threat of force is challenging to concur so democracy could only be a gradual
evolution. Additionally, Pakistan's economy is still weak with 24.3% living in
poverty (BTI, 2022) and the countries weak federalism that favours a single
province does not encourage political stability. The foundation blocks are
present, but Pakistan still has obstacles to overcome.
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