The

Centre for Public Policy and

Governance cordially invites you to join us for a webinar on:


‘Deeni’ Parties and the Political System:
Denominational Diversity and Religious
Populism in an Islamic Republic
By:
Johann Chacko, SOAS, University of
London

Friday, 25th June 2021, 5 PM on Zoom

How do we explain the remarkable contrast between the level of political power
wielded by Islamic parties in Pakistan and the mediocrity of their election results? How
do we even begin to tell a complete and coherent story about political Islam in
Pakistan, given the bewildering number of parties and the ever-shifting landscape of
their alliances?

There are three major conceptual and analytic approaches -denominational politics,
religious populism, and social movement theory- which taken together can help us
usefully navigate these complexities, especially when employed at the provincial as
well as national levels.

Although the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is unique, none of its underlying dynamics
are specific to either the religion or the country. On the contrary, Pakistan as an ‘edge
case’ serves as a laboratory of democracy that sheds light on processes in play across
the region and the world. A more accurate understanding of political Islam in Pakistan
can not only better empower the polity to make choices in its collective interest, but
also offer valuable insights to very different societies around the globe.

Johann Chacko is a doctoral researcher at the School of Oriental and African Studies,
University of London. He is a contributing author to Pakistan's Political Parties:
Surviving between Dictatorship and Democracy, published by Georgetown University
Press (Washington DC, 2020) and Folio Books (Lahore, 2021). He writes on South Asia
for The National, the UAE’s English-language newspaper of record.

Join us on Zoom:
https://zoom.us/j/99411243734?pwd=S3ZlVXVJTzZZS3E0L0xkd2Z0MVNXUT09

Meeting ID: 994 1124 3734

Passcode: 531656