La localizzazione della politica nei regimi ibridi dell\u2019Asia meridionale. \u201cCasta\u201d e democrazia in Pakistan

Despite their seemingly different political paths, India and Pakistan have both experienced a shift from the national to the local dimension of politics. The reasons behind this shift are assumed to be of a quite different nature. In the case of India, this evolution is widely connected to the crisis that has affected the Congress since the late 1980s, and, secondly, to the political strategy followed by Indira Gandhi in the 1970s and the early 1980s of disconnecting the traditional links of the party to the regional notables. Both elements contributed to make the Congress increasingly dependent on regional caste/kinship-based political organizations. The similar evolution observed in Pakistan has been explained, in part, with reference to the structural weakness of the mainstream political parties - in particular the Pakistan People Party and the Pakistan Muslim League \u2013 and their dependence on kinship and religious structures and hierarchies, and, in part, with the impact of military regimes. The latter would have constantly aimed to depoliticizing society by putting formal and informal obstacles to the activities of the political parties, and reinforced the biradari (extended family/caste) loyalties at the provincial and district level. There is however a relevant difference between the two cases, in so far the role played by castes in India has been since long identified as a factor that favors democratization. A recent analysis has even emphasized a \u201cvernacularization\u201d of democracy (Michelutti 2007). On the contrary, in the Pakistani case, \u201ccaste\u201d groups have been identified as an obstacle towards the consolidation of democracy. While in both cases the evolution of the political system seems to emphasize the relevance of political culture for the process of democratization, the result seems to be radically different. The paper will aim to discuss this paradox, through an analysis of the role played by descent groups in the electoral process and the political bargaining in an area of South Western Punjab in Pakistan