Polycentricity, Islam, and Development

Potentials and Challenges in Pakistan

Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Political Science, International
Cover of the book Polycentricity, Islam, and Development by Anas Malik, Lexington Books
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Anas Malik ISBN: 9781498539760
Publisher: Lexington Books Publication: December 26, 2017
Imprint: Lexington Books Language: English
Author: Anas Malik
ISBN: 9781498539760
Publisher: Lexington Books
Publication: December 26, 2017
Imprint: Lexington Books
Language: English

Development analysts often focus on the role of “the state” in making the right rules by which to govern society, assuming that governance is exclusively or mainly the work of the central government authority. The reality in many developing countries, particularly those with weak central government authorities, is that governance happens through diverse rules and in many centers of decision-making, in ways that are formal and informal, official and unofficial. This real-world polycentricity can be dysfunctional or productive, depending in part on shared understandings between decision-making entities about how to relate to each other. Those shared understandings come from cultural backgrounds, historical interactions, and other sources.

Political economist Anas Malik argues that well-functioning polycentricity in developing countries depends in part on the shared understandings between official government entities and unofficial units that provide collective choice in particular arenas. In Muslim-majority contexts, the Islamic tradition – contrary to the image of a top-down, single-voiced religious law- provides ample resources supporting shared understandings that accommodate diverse rules and collective choice units. Pakistan, the largest Muslim-majority country at its founding, provides an important case. After building on the development literature to suggest a typology of collective choice units in developing countries, Malik explores resources in the Islamic tradition that support polycentric governance. The book then examines major deliberations in Pakistan’s history, particularly through documented inquiries into serious political crises such as sectarian religious agitation and civil war, and through a selective survey of types of jurisdictions and collective choice units. Malik argues that there are significant polycentric understandings in Pakistan’s historical lineage, but that these are heavily contested. While there is potential for polycentric development in Pakistan, the viability of polycentric order is constrained by countering forces and contextual factors.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Development analysts often focus on the role of “the state” in making the right rules by which to govern society, assuming that governance is exclusively or mainly the work of the central government authority. The reality in many developing countries, particularly those with weak central government authorities, is that governance happens through diverse rules and in many centers of decision-making, in ways that are formal and informal, official and unofficial. This real-world polycentricity can be dysfunctional or productive, depending in part on shared understandings between decision-making entities about how to relate to each other. Those shared understandings come from cultural backgrounds, historical interactions, and other sources.

Political economist Anas Malik argues that well-functioning polycentricity in developing countries depends in part on the shared understandings between official government entities and unofficial units that provide collective choice in particular arenas. In Muslim-majority contexts, the Islamic tradition – contrary to the image of a top-down, single-voiced religious law- provides ample resources supporting shared understandings that accommodate diverse rules and collective choice units. Pakistan, the largest Muslim-majority country at its founding, provides an important case. After building on the development literature to suggest a typology of collective choice units in developing countries, Malik explores resources in the Islamic tradition that support polycentric governance. The book then examines major deliberations in Pakistan’s history, particularly through documented inquiries into serious political crises such as sectarian religious agitation and civil war, and through a selective survey of types of jurisdictions and collective choice units. Malik argues that there are significant polycentric understandings in Pakistan’s historical lineage, but that these are heavily contested. While there is potential for polycentric development in Pakistan, the viability of polycentric order is constrained by countering forces and contextual factors.

More books from Lexington Books

Cover of the book Forgiveness and Power in the Age of Atrocity by Anas Malik
Cover of the book State-Building in Kazakhstan by Anas Malik
Cover of the book Law, Economics, and Game Theory by Anas Malik
Cover of the book Writing Youth by Anas Malik
Cover of the book Citizenship and Multiculturalism in Western Liberal Democracies by Anas Malik
Cover of the book Reading as Democracy in Crisis by Anas Malik
Cover of the book The Invisible Workers of the U.S.–Mexico Bracero Program by Anas Malik
Cover of the book Educating Activists by Anas Malik
Cover of the book Anthropology's Interrogation of Philosophy from the Eighteenth to the Twentieth Century by Anas Malik
Cover of the book Educational Policies in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan by Anas Malik
Cover of the book Is the Good Book Good Enough? by Anas Malik
Cover of the book What Democrats Talk about When They Talk about God by Anas Malik
Cover of the book Normative Power Europe Meets Israel by Anas Malik
Cover of the book Korean and Korean American Life Writing in Hawai'i by Anas Malik
Cover of the book Morals and Manners among Negro Americans by Anas Malik
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy