The Royal Prerogative is a feature of the UK Constitution

Introduction

The U.K. constitution is described as an “unwritten constitution”. However it is best described as ‘partly written and wholly un-codified.” (Budge et al, 1998)[1]Its main source is statute law. These are laws, which are passed by UK parliament, particularly important for determining the scope and power of government.

Other source is common law from which constitution authority is derived. Though common law has largely been replaced by statute law, it is very important in certain fundamental constitutional principles such as Royal Prerogative. This paper considers Royal Prerogative, which is a very special feature of UK constitution. Royal Prerogative refers to those powers left over from when the monarch was directly involved in the government.  It concerns legislature, judicial system, foreign affairs, armed forces, appointments and honors, privileges and immunities and prerogative in times of emergency. The scope of Royal Prerogative as well as reforms undertaken in this regard has been highlighted. The thesis of this paper is that UK government has resolved to increase parliamentary oversight in relation to treaties, war powers, senior appointment and management of civil service. It has suggested that prerogative powers could be candidate for abolition or reform, but their continued existence, has no significant negative effects.

Royal prerogative and its scope

Royal Prerogative refers to those powers left over from when the monarch was directly involved in the government. It gives the Crown (the monarch) special powers such as power to declare war, to make treaties, deploying the armed forces, regulating the civil service, to pardon criminals and to dissolve parliament. In today’s time, monarch exercise ceremonial roles in such matters, but royal prerogative gives immense power to ministers acting on the Queen’s behalf. Its exercise doesn’t require the approval of the parliament. [2]

Constitutional lawyers have summarized the main areas in which the prerogative is used today. It concerns legislature, judicial system, foreign affairs, armed forces, appointments and honors, privileges and immunities and prerogative in times of emergency.[3]

The scope of the Royal prerogative is difficult to determine. Court is said to be the final arbiter of the existence and extent of a particular time of prerogative power. [4] The role of the court in determining the existence and extent of the prerogative can be a significant control on the prerogative. This control is strengthened by common law which states that courts can’t create new prerogatives. Moreover the courts are now able to scrutinize the manner in which such powers are exercised. One channel it is done is through the Human Rights Acts, where an aggrieved person may challenge an act or omission of the executive in the UK. The other is the judicial review, which provides a check and balance on the actions of the ministers so that they are not unreasonable and that the powers are not exercised in a procedural unfair way. [5]

Some Acts passed in the recent years have brought significant reform, though they are not primarily aimed at reformed the Royal prerogative. For e.g. Civil Contingencies act have devised a flexible and broader framework for dealing with emergencies, covering majority of the situations which previously were under the use of Royal prerogatives. Secondly, the inquiries act 2005 replaced or reproduced all of the prerogative power to call public inquiries.

Constitutional Reforms to Royal Prerogative:

Modernization of Royal prerogative has been the central theme of the Governance of Britain agenda[6]. Governance of Britain Green Paper set out plans for wide-reaching constitutional reforms. It stated that the power of the government flowing from public should be subjected to account by the parliament.[7] It stressed that if the parliament is not able to scrutinize and challenge government actions then the voters wouldn’t believe that government wield power appropriately. More over public confidence in the accountability of the government is being lost.

In October 2009, the government published the review of the prerogative powers.[8] It stated that a number of ways can be devised to subject prerogative powers to control and examination by the parliament. These included legislation, accountability of parliament and Parliament approval of expenditure. In this case, ministers are accountable to Parliament for all their actions including those taken under the prerogative powers.

Regarding Armed forces, the Royal prerogative is a central to its organization and existence. It is one element of the complex administration structure of the armed forces. The primary prerogative power concerning armed force i.e. their deployment has already been made subject to reform proposal. [9] It has been suggested that the decision by the Government to commit forces to armed conflict should be approved by the House of Commons.[10]  Parliament exercises control over the Armed Forces through oversight on the expenditure of defense. Ministry of Defense is also subject to scrutiny by Defense Select Committee of the House of Commons. Thus, manifestations of prerogative in relation to armed forces are closely interwoven with statutory provisions.

Royal prerogative of mercy is exercised by Sovereign on ministerial advice. Secretary of State for justice is responsible for recommending the exercise of this prerogative. The grant of free pardons has declined as a result of the right to appeal in the court. It is suggested that Royal prerogative to grant free, unconditional pardons have largely been superseded by statutory provisions.

In the case of emergency, UK government had range of non statutory powers to enable it to respond to emergencies. However Civil Contingency Act has replaced the emergency power framework set under Emergency Powers Act 1920 and Civil Defense Act 1948. Now prerogative powers can be abolished by legislation. Civil Contingency Act has “covered the field leaving no room for the continuation of the prerogative. However, important aspects remain for use in case of particular urgency or disruption. This provides a mechanism to make up for the weakness when statutory provisions are not able to respond because of insufficient time. The important priority of the government remains to guarantee safety and security of its citizens. This allows the government to retain these residual powers.

Need for Royal Prerogative:

The report published by Public Administration Select Committee rationalized the need for such powers on the ground that they are necessary for the provision of effective administration, especially in the time of national emergency. However, it is to be considered that they should be subject to more systematic parliamentary oversight.

Prerogative powers can provide flexibility in dealing with exceptional circumstances which are not covered by statutory provisions. It provides a basis on which it is possible for the government to act outside the framework of Civil Contingencies Act 2004 in circumstance of exceptional urgency or disruption. Failure to do so or doing otherwise such as enacting a statutory power can result in either broad statutory power or one that is insufficiently flexible. [11]

Further more certain prerogatives covering a wide area can’t be entangled. For example Armed forces operate through a mix of prerogatives through state and statute. Placing it in statutory basis is a complex and large-scale exercise.

Moreover, some powers are best described as “archaic”. These are prerogatives of little importance in the modern age. They comprise of small and specific issues like the Crown’s right to sturgeon wild and unmarked swans and whales.

In some case it is difficult to suggest that whether the prerogative power has been wholly replace by the statute or whether there is residual power which subsists.  Even if residual power subsists, it is rational to argue that such power provides flexibility in the time of need. Such “residual” powers are of the minor nature, more of a legacy of time. For e.g. the Treasure Act 1996 applies to all objects found after September 1997, but the prerogative is relevant for a small number of objects found before the date. In addition to this, review has resulted in the decision to preserve prerogative power for e.g. in the case of BBC charter review.

The government proposes to address the concerns against royal prerogatives on a case-by-case basis, in the light of changing circumstances however it is against the “major reform” at present[12]. The constitution is said to have evolved organically.

Residual prerogative powers are seldom exercised in their proper way. Firstly, use of the prerogative powers once considered threat to the parliament, such as the withholding the Royal Assent to legislation has fallen into disuse and it is unthinkable of its application in the today’s time. Other smaller powers have also been replaced because they have been replaced by a statutory scheme or because they have become dysfunctional. The power to amend and grant Royal charter is one such power.  Secondly, the personal prerogatives which Monarch once used on their own initiative are now merely endorsed decision. For e.g. appointment of Prime Minister or the dissolution of the parliament are now endorsed decisions of the ruling party and the electorate.       

Thirdly, the prerogative power to grant appointment and honors are no more a cause of controversy or embarrassment. The resulting decision is determined by Minister and Opposition party leaders and Monarch is merely a conduit for such state patronage. Fourthly, the prerogative power to grant mercy or pardon convicted criminals is exercised as an act of grace on the advice of Home Secretary. Such actions create little fuss in Parliament about procedural grounds though at times opposition on substantial grounds related to the case can arise. [13]

Conclusion

Against the backdrop of Civil Contingencies Act 2004, Inquiry Act 2005 and BBC Charter Review, Government of Britain has initiated reform to those manifestations of Royal prerogative powers which have attracted most attention and criticism. It has resolved to increase parliamentary oversight in relation to treaties, war powers, senior appointment and management of civil service. It has undergone an examination of the current state of the prerogative powers and has provided a consolidated list of prerogative powers. It is suggested that remaining prerogative powers could be candidate for abolition or reform, but their continued existence, has no significant negative effects. It is arguable to say that some of the legislation to replace the prerogatives may give arise to new risks. One risk is the unnecessary incursion into the civil liberties at one hand and unnecessary loss of flexibility to respond to unforeseen circumstance on the other hand. The government has proposed that it would be unnecessary to propose further major reform to executive prerogative powers.

About The Author: Hamid Khan is a an alumni of Lahore University of Management Sciences. He received his Master's degree in Economics from LUMS. His areas of interest includes economics and social science. He can be reached at 2hmdKhan(at-the-rate)gmail.com

Dominant Ideology And Media

                                  

This paper considers the explanatory value of the concept ‘dominant ideology’. It begins with the Marxist definition of the dominant ideology and discusses aspects of dominant ideology from the Marxists and the contemporary Neo-Marxists perspective. The Neo-Marxist perspective of the dominant ideology has been used to describe the values related to faith and religion. It focuses on the use of media as a source of propagation of dominant ideology. Some critiques of the writers, the explanatory value of the dominant ideology have also been considered which contradict its traditional view. Finally the essay concludes with the traditional and the critical view of the ideology and bourgeoisie class. 

In the Marxist perspective, “Dominant ideology” is referred to as the ideology of the majority in a population. This ideology remains to be prevalent given that interests of the dominant class are fulfilled. This can lead to seizure of development process in the subordinate class, who are unable to form an effective opposition. It can be said without doubt that the ideas of the dominant class are deeply penetrated into the social system. (Williams, 1977)

According to Karl Marx, ‘Social class determines consciousnesses. The relationship of a class to the modes of production generates cultural conditions and its material conditions. In other words it can also be said that each class has a separate belief system because each has its own interests due to difference in their economic conditions. Secondly each mode of production has a dominant class which is responsible for a dominant ideology to ensure the subordination of the working class. Marx also distinguished two types of social influences in the formation of ideologies. The main source of ideas is the experiences of individuals as they continue their daily life experiences. David Cheal calls the reactions to these daily activities as the ‘practical ideas.’ Another source through which individuals are introduced to new ideas is called ‘received ideas’ as these are achieved through social interactions or communication between individuals. For Gramsci, the presence of these two sources of ideas can lead to contradictions, which he called ‘contradictory consciousness.’ Such types of contradictions are unevenly distributed among the classes. For dominant classes, they form a consistent system of thought and the consequences of such contradictions are insignificant. However for subordinate classes, these contradictions are large and significant. (Cheal, 1979) Leading thinkers in Marxist ideology, Althussers and Paulantzas argue that the dominance in political or ideological structures is determined by economic base. Such dominance is sometimes also facilitated by non-economic factors like religion. In feudal and pre-capitalist societies religion was used to ensure that a continuous labor source was available from the peasantry. (Abercrombie & Turner, 1978)

According to Marxists, media plays an important role in spreading the dominant ideology and in building a sense of consensus among the population about right and wrong nature of things. This in a sense can be true as media has means to provide false information and completely ignore or brand something unreasonable which challenges the dominant ideology. Media presents ideas of the ruling class while marginalizing voices of minority. The power structures in media can be further broken down to the interests of the owners and managers of a media group. Murdock argues that the two important reasons that recede power of ruling class is the growth of professional managers and the creation of new capital enterprise. As industry grows, so does the need for managers. (Gitlin, 1979)  This in turn increases the influence of professional managers and threatens the power base of the owners.

According to Paul Wingfield media present information in a way that is relevant, has meaning and is acceptable in general. It capitalizes on the general knowledge and dominant ideology in order to transform the information into reality. The ideas that are presented not only get rooted in the media but also into the institutions of the society. Thus media not only plays role in strengthening of the widespread beliefs in a society but is also capable of changing the whole thinking of a society. (Nesbitt-Larking, 2007)

The belief that the dominant ideology of church and other religion have been prevalent historically has been opposed by authors in the contemporary times based on the studies they have done on the peasant and other societies. Martin Goodridge (1975) in the Ages of faith, Romance and Reality notes, in a comprehensive examination of the peasantry in countries like France, England and Italy that the class has been left estranged from the dominant ideological views of faith from the mainstream church. He notes that the religious clergy of the particular area was although influential in asserting the ideology of faith only symbolically, but was considered, in those societies to be, unreliable source of faith and belief. (Goodrige, 1975)The similar line of logic is also applicable to the capitalist societies of the early times. The dominant ideologies of individualism and the doctrines of the utilitarianism were very important components of the 1950s and were widespread in the realms of morality, economy and religion. However, individualism has been connected to the human ancestry and the connection to modern capitalism is very difficult to establish. Following such a line of logic as individualism and the ancestry of human beings, the dominant ideology is the by-product of human ancestry and not of the dominant ideology of the modern capitalism and bourgeoisie class. (Abercrombie & Turner, 1978)

While criticizing Marxism, Abercrombie argues about the shortcomings of the theories of Marxist ideology. He is of the view that the problem with Marxist theories of culture is of methodological character. The basic assumption of the dominant ideology model is that the ruling class controls the means of intellectual production and hence is able to control thoughts and beliefs of the subordinate class. Even in order to protest against the dominant ideology, the subordinate class will need some medium, which itself occurs to be at the hands of the ruling class. (Abercrombie & Turner, 1978)

The existence of a common ideology between the dominant and the dominated class is the basic assumption on which the dominant ideology lies. Critics have argued that the dominating never really shared the ideology of the dominated and they always had their own sets of beliefs, ideas and concepts regarding the different spheres of life. Even in the days of the feudal landlords, it was the dominant class which was adhering to its own sets of values and the dominated class was not very willing to comply with these. (Nesbitt-Larking, 2007) It has also been suggested that the dominant ideology was a means to keep the dominant class together and united on a common platform. The ruling class had developed their own standards and rules and while their attempts to make their subordinates follow those standards were not very successful, this common ideology held the ruling class together.

One reason for doubting Marx’s theory in feudal times is that it was very difficult to disseminate information or principles in those days. If we consider Marx’s theory in light of our current times, we will find that his theory carries more weight now than at any other time. In feudal times, the dominant ideology need not be shared by both the rulers and the subordinates. The rulers were mostly independent and they did not need people to comply with their ideology as long as they were obeying their orders without question. In contemporary times however, this has become a necessity. With the rise of democratic governments and people wanting to have a say in the system of governance, it has become essential for governments to convince people to share their ideologies and both the rulers and the ruled need to share perspectives on issues.

This has enabled mass media to flourish as a strong force in state matters. However, with the rise of corporations, the power dynamics of societies have changed completely and the corporations play a huge role in policy making. The government, the corporations and the media have now become a closely knit group and the ideologies of both the government and corporations are spread by the media. This is a universal phenomenon in both the developed and the undeveloped world, although the end game is usually different. Whatever the end game, the media is always a major player, more than religion ever was in previous years.

Noam Chomsky, in an interview, explained the role of media in shaping perspectives. He said “They (The media) also shape the discussion in such a way that people do not perceive what is happening. A striking example is the Israel Arab conflict. United States and Israel are effectively annexing the valuable parts of the West Bank. That is presented as withdrawal and they are praising Israel for withdrawing from the West Bank, referring to the policy which is about annexing the West Bank.”  So the interests and the ideologies of the rulers are spread among the population by the media and due to the diverse means that it has, it can shape the way people look at a particular problem.

An argument against this prevalent case of media bias has been presented by Arafat Al Jameel. He cites the example of British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) which does not gather money from any particular organization and is funded by annual TV license fees. It has in its charter that it will not be influenced by any organization, be it private or government. (Jameel, 2009)

The laws and regulations which make BBC an autonomous broadcasting corporation indicate that its philosophy does not seem to adhere to Marxism through which a ruling class exercises its influence to control over the individuals. It appears that the source of finance to the BBC does not come from one particular person; the households who subscribe to the services of the corporation are the main source for its existence. This approach is akin to Pluralism in its view that the readers and listeners are not merely passive or submissive to the media. Instead, everyone has a voice and therefore able to play a tangible role in affecting the media. (Williams 2003).

However, his explanation has also been targeted for criticism. Even with its claim of being exclusive to pressures from both government and private corporations, BBC has to report according to regulations of the government and its reporting during the Iraq War was claimed to be highly biased. The corporation helped cover up the embarrassment faced by the government over their decision to go into War with Iraq and not find weapons of mass destruction in the country. So this ‘Triad’ of government, corporations and media has developed a new apparatus of spreading the dominant ideology within people and to shape the people’s thoughts to match their own interests.

Marxist theorists tend to emphasize the role of the mass media in the reproduction of the status quo, in contrast to liberal pluralists who emphasize the role of the media in promoting freedom of speech. The Marxist view of dominant ideology still has some strength as it draws our attention to the important factor of social class in relation to media ownership and the effect it has on the consumers. Although consumers in large can affect what the media showcases, the biases of media towards particular social and political pressures cannot be ignored. The notion that media produces false consciousness in the working class is an extreme stance, which sees media products as the ideology of the ruling class only. This completely ignores the diversity of opinions and the oppositional views that exist in the public.

About The Author: Hamid Khan is a an alumni of Lahore University of Management Sciences. He received his Master's degree in Economics from LUMS. His areas of interest includes economics and social science. He can be reached at 2hmdKhan(at-the-rate)gmail.com

Han Dynasty and Women

This paper discusses the role of women in the Han dynasty based on the primary and secondary literature of the course. As has been the case for prior dynasties, family constituted the fundamental unit of society in Han dynasty. This resulted in the formation of patriarchal hierarchy. Legalism was extreme and the imperative nature of filial piety made the hierarchy to be codified in law. More over the needs of the group were above the needs of the individual and society was categorized into classes. Women are one of the class and enjoyed reverence however, women were not allowed to enjoy individual lives and were forced to assume the roles determined by the system.

The Primordial Filial Piety

 Influenced by the teachings of Confucius and other thinkers, Filial piety was given more consideration by the Han dynasty than its predecessors did. Filial piety implied a well run family where parents looked after the children and in turn children were expected to take care of their parents and support them in their old age. The importance of the Filial Piety is suggested by the fact that the brief classic of filial piety is considered to be written in the early Han dynasty. Filial Piety was defined as the whole hearted devotion to parents however the connotations are extended to accommodate for the devotion to superiors. (Ebrey) “Filial piety is the root of virtue and source of civilization.” (Ebrey) If man exhibited paramount filial piety, he could be exalted to the status of official in the society. The importance of filial piety enabled the family to be the central focus of allegiance for most Chinese. The important goal of each individual Chinese life was to serve his ancestors through sacrifices and safeguarding the lineage of the family. (Lockard)

Family was given prime consideration by the Chinese individual as it provided for psychological and economic security to him. However, it was led by a senior male and lineage was only traced through male line. In family, mother and father enjoyed apparently equal status and were revered by children equally. Given the ascendancy of filial piety and patriarchic nature of family life being driven by senior males, Women felt to be at a relative disadvantage compared to men. At childhood, daughter was expected to revere her father, when married she was expected to be faithful and loyal to her husband and finally as mother to be caring to her children.

Given the ascendancy of family, Chinese society has to a large extent, especially in Han dynasty, been a proponent of patriarch Confucianism. (Lockard) The ideals for women were selfless behavior, loyalty and faithfulness. However this didn’t override the importance of the female. Alluding to the different social positions she assumes, the importance of respect for women has been stressed. “They serve their mothers as they serve their fathers; the love shown them is the same.” (Ebrey) “The rulers didn’t dare insult the widows and widowers- not to mention the upper class or the common people.” (Ebrey) Some of the important female figures of the Han dynasty are Lu Zhi (wife of the founder of Han Dynasty), Yu Ji, Zhuo Wenjun, Huan Shaojun. (Peterson)

Men exercised the essential political power and had the right to control the property. Women had no ownership of property and were not inducted by the institutions holding political power. However, the hierarchy of powers was not flat. Rather, women of different classes enjoyed different status. For e.g. the female relatives of Han emperor had greater influence than most but few of male officials. One such example is the ascendancy of the grandmother of emperor. Given the importance of elders, she had the responsibility to choose the spouse of her grand children and even the future heirs of the throne. (Hughes and Hughes)

In Han dynasty, gender roles became stricter. However, Women were allowed to indulge in small scale trade. In addition to doing the household work and taking care of their children, they worked in farms and marketplace for long hours to meet the family needs. The social status enjoyed by women was different depending upon the social class and local patterns. Women enjoyed greater freedom in lower class given the needs of the family. However in the elite classes the freedom was more restricted. Women who worked in the fields and in market place exercised greater influence in their families in contrast to their counterparts in the rich families.

In addition to this, Han cities and societies were organized around categories. These included the rich class, women, lower class and scholar-gentry. Having assumed legalistic approach, the stability came at a cost of strict law and punishment for the poor. To curb the tendencies for criminal offenses, groups were responsible for individual actions. Though the judicial system was considered to be equal to everyone, the strict categorization and organization structure enforce the lower class to bear the brunt of strict legalistic approach. Since family was the unit of society, family bore the responsibility for individual actions. More ever, Polygamy was not allowed. Once widowed, a virtuous woman was not expected to remarry even if forced. She was expected to remain loyal to her husband memory and family.

Furthermore, One very unlikely trend in the Han dynasty was the beginning of biographies of virtuous women and stories about filial piety. (Rainey) One such example is the tribute to extraordinary women like Mencius’ mother. The basis of selection for the “extraordinary” was the respect for parents and husbands and care for children and family. Admonition of Women written by Ban Zhao is a manifestation of auspicious nature of these ideals. (Rainey) It inspires the women to be chaste in all ways and develop themselves as moral beings through education in morality. More over filial piety was glorified by admiration of sons and daughters embodying respect for parents and elders. Filial piety was put in perspective through the yin-yang opposite extremes. Obedience and loyalty on the part of children were rationalized as natural trends ordained by the Heaven. This notion ordained the primacy of male authority over children. Relationships hierarchy in family in specific and society in general were thus actively as well as passively based on generation, age and gender. (Rainey)

Conclusion:

Family was the fundamental social unity in Han dynasty. This resulted in the formation of patriarchal hierarchy. Rulers in the Han dynasty adopted strict legalism and gave prime consideration to filial piety.  This meant that importance of family and hence patriarchal hierarchy was codified in law. Rulers and officials were proponent of patriarchic Confucianism. The codification of precedence of family over individuals in law, both in literal terms and in spirit resulted in increased restrictions for all individuals. Given the patriarchal nature, women were worse off. Respect for women was restricted to traditional roles. The respect directly emanated from the status of the family in the whole society. Given the aristocratic nature of governance in the Chinese society, poor families were bound to bear the brunt of the social injustice generally prevalent in aristocratic societies. This affected the relative rights of women in different classes too. For upper classes, women were bound to remain indoors, restricted by the filial piety for their husbands and children. In poor families, restrictions were loosened by the economic forces and women were allowed to work in markets. Women enjoyed greater freedom in lower class given the needs of the family.  However the double standards regarding polygamy were uniform in the whole Han society. Men were allowed to remarry for procreation whereas women were expected to remain loyal to her husband even in the case of his death.

Moreover, women were not allowed to enjoy non-traditional individual lives and were forced to assume the roles determined by the system. Leadership chances were restricted for women. Even in the case of women being a regent, men exercised greater control of the decision making.  The patriarchal Confucianism portended that women exhibit faithfulness, loyalty and this implied that women were considered subjects more or less equivalent to the role of domesticated animals.

About The Author: Hamid Khan is a alumni of Lahore University Of Management Sciences. He has done his masters in Economics from LUMS.His areas of interest includes Economics and Social Sciences. He can be reached at 2hmdkhn(at-the-rate)gmail.com

Developmental Stage and Reciprocal Consent - Economic Miracle in Japan, Taiwan and Korea.

Introduction:

Developmental state, a notion aroused from the exponential growth of Asian tigers, refers to the state-led economic planning. Such a state envisions projecting itself as an autonomous body through increased political power and effective control over the economy to imbibe its ideals in the economic system. It is characterized by strong state interventions in the economy, rigorous regulations and centralized economic planning. At the other extreme, there lies a weak or predatory state which entrusts private profit seekers and the market with the role of raising prosperity levels by increasing economic efficiency. Developmental state is focused on the protection of domestic industries through technology transfers, import substitution, export promotion and emphasis on technical education policies. It exhibit narrow institutionalism as opposed to broader institutionalism and has extensive focus on statist paradigm with little importance given to public-private collaboration. (Hundt, 2008)

These rationales of state dominance in the economic development are challenged by reciprocal consent. It holds that though state help structure the market choices but public/private negotiation also structure state and market choices alike. The mechanism of relationship is defined by the type of market structure, extent of centralization, timing of the development, openness of the economy, policies of the ruling coalition and nature of administrative tradition explains the nature and extent of state intervention. (Samuels, 1987) Developmental state is characterized by few pilot agencies guiding the overall process of intervention with policy tool are linked to the private sector performance through a structure of incentives. Civil society is weak and easily subordinated. States builds extensive coalition with industry and plays down leftist elements. This paper deals with the developmental state and reciprocal consent arguments in explaining the development trajectories across Japan, Korea and Taiwan over the course of Post-War period.

Korea:

Korean economic bureaucracy has played a central force in the shaping of the development. It has informed Korean political leaders of policy options that may undermine state power creating a tension by simultaneous pursuit of maximal state autonomy and socio-economic development. This has created a web of bureaucracy power reinforcing in the economic decision making of the country. Pilot agencies has defined the direction for the overall intervention in targeted industries in the economy, coordinated investment decisions for them and devised intervention policies. In Korea, Economic Planning Board, had assumed the role of pilot agency, and had driven the course of the economic development under the auspices of strong bureaucracy. It has extensively promoted labor-intensive manufacturing in the 60’s, heavy industries in the late 70’s and technology and services in the 1980’s.

Korean states placed strict performance benchmarks for the firms participating in the priority sectors. Incentives had been designed for the firms to participate in these sector with certain threads attached to them. State bore the extensive risk of economic development and bestowed business leaders with privileged position in the political economy. As put forth by James West, Korean state’s relationship with business is like a practical dialectic of power and profit with power playing the role of senior partner. (Hundt, 2008)

However the trends have changed. After the 1990s, the relationship between pilot agencies and private firms has characterized by firms deciding about entering into certain industries rather than state dictating their preferences. However once industry has received enough entrants, it becomes logical as well as possible for the pilot agency to exercise regulations in the industry.  More over, trade unions have emerged in the 1980’s and have assumed extensive power since then. This trends plays down the predominance of the developmental state notion which assumes weak civil society. Extensive openness of the economy has been augmented with democratization of the polity. Increased degree of contestation in Korean political economy and the declining trends in the continuous development elements of the Korean state can’t be explained with developmental state presumptions.

Business leaders are endowed with structural power of capital which is the ability to resist changes as imposed by the state. The capital enjoys ample mobility and is not concentrated into few geographic places. Firms can withdraw their resources from the economy on the account of deleterious changes and hence have the ability to resist changes. Beside these, large firms also possess considerable market power. In the Korean developmental alliance, Chaebols, large business investors, have extensive role in the economy. Chaebols have over-invested in the economy. In 1980’s Korea political economy underwent radical changes. In this period Chaebols gained at the expense of state.  For Korean state, the quality of the investment is of prime consideration. Therefore challenge for the state is to prevent irresponsible behavior on the part of the Chaebols in the form of redundant or speculative investments. This transition of role toward private businesses in the developmental alliance can be aptly put forth as state dominance to interdependence. It can be safely said that state’s developmental capacities helped its own decline as civil society and Chaebols gained strength. However in the aftermath of Asian crises, state oversaw a range of industrial and financial restructuring programs which renewed the state capacity to discipline the open market.

According to Amsden, as in the case of South Korea, the state has promoted late industrialization through subsidies as well as through promoting discipline. (Smith, 2000) Subsidies have become the policy tool for the state to decide the extent and nature of production and the type of strategic industries to favor. These allocations of subsidies have rendered South Korean state from acting as mere banker to become a shrewd entrepreneur. The state has set stringent performance requirement in return for the subsidies it provides. Subsidies and discipline introduce consistency in the carrot and stick policy. The policy objective of the government are rationalized through granting or withholding industrial licensing, government bank loans, advanced technology acquired by the government through foreign licensing and technical assistance.

Korea has focused toward further deepening of the industrial sector. Deepening of the industrial sector require generation of additional supplies of factor of production. Physical and human capital accumulation is required for the industrialization to proceed.

Japan:

Japan faced strenuous economic situations immediately after the world war two. Destruction of production facilities, loss of the territory were augment by constraints such as spiraling population and reduced supply of  the raw materials. In the post-war Japan, ministry of trade and industry was the pilot agency to set interventionist policies for the targeted industries. It is now regarded as the key institution in helping the Japanese emergence as a major economic power. It took control of Japanese “industrial policy” and guided public and private sector firms in the direction of rapid economic growth. However in this regards, as has been argued by many commentators, the economic development was not monopolistically dominated by the state. It has been argued that reciprocal consent holds true as well because the state actively elicited support from firms in its energy sector. State’s bureaucracy is not the dominant force in the development, rather it negotiated with business.

MITI was not extensively focused on directing investments and trade in particular sector of the economy but aimed to persuading Japanese manufacturing and trading companies to enter new areas of economic activity and exporting through consensus building measures. MITI was run by pragmatic bureaucrats to spot new trends, assess strengths and weaknesses of the Japanese producers. (Thompson, 1998) The growth of the Japanese economy from 1920s to 1970s is attributed to the economic bureaucracy of the MITI. MITI had extensively contributed toward reorganization of productive structures to meet its goals. The policy tools to its discretion were technology transfers, joint venturing, patent rights, royal conditions and licensing agreement. These policy considerations were subject to its jurisdiction during the rapid phase of industrial development.

MITI is the considerate as the main instrument of Japan’s developmental state. However, in the recent past, this pilot agency has failed to spot trends in key development areas such as information technology. The golden era of MITI power and influencing came to a steady end after liberalization schemes of the Japanese economy were introduced in the 1960s. More ever, in the IT sector, Japan’s success depended on the collaboration of the state with the market forces for industry’s development. The presumption that state dominates or at-least directs development portrays business and the markets as objects managed by state elites. However this creates a false dichotomy between the economy and the state. The state needs to be considered as an economic actor that operates within the market, though in more authoritative manner. (Hundt, 2008) The ability of MITI to encourage private companies especially in the petro-chemical industry has at best been truncated.

Some commentators have argued that the Japanese Miracle was not the result of industrial policy rather it was the result of the dynamism of the private sector toward responding to the economic growth ideals. The dynamism aroused for the structural change endeavor of the industrial policy. Efforts were geared toward the transformation of Japan into an industrial society as a response the situation prevailing in the postwar contexts.

Japan after the 1980s distinguishes itself from most of the Western Europe states because of the near absence of state ownership. Powerful private actors established alliances with politicians and bureaucrats in development of commerce and industry. Market conforming actions of the Japanese state has led to the market structure transformation in Japan. These notions are in stark contrast to the bureaucratic dominance and the developmental state in Japan. The Japanese state is characterized by a high level of public-private cooperation, balance of bureaucratic autonomy and linkages with private sector.

In Japan, market and state structure is the product of negotiation and opportunity different from bureaucratic dominance and developmental state notions. The frame work of interaction can aptly be explained by the framework of “reciprocal consent”. In this framework, states do drive the structure of market choice but this direction of interaction is not unilateral. Rather public/private negotiation irresistibly structure state and market choices alike.

Taiwan:

In 1949, Nationalist-mainlander poured into Taiwan facing no internal opposition. Land reforms were instituted for increase agricultural yields to produce sizeable exports and generate linkage effects. Extensive investments in rural infrastructure and irrigation were undertaken in 1950’s. Exchange rate was kept over-valued to benefit industrialist in keeping the food prices low as well as their import costs minimal for the promotion of exports. Multiyear development plans were initiated to inculcate growth in the economy.

Agri-Producer prices were low and technology and heavy tax policy were used for the use in industrialization. Quantitative restrictions on imports and high tariffs were used to control external competition. The process of import substitution was complete by 1957. Market-distortion as well as market-replacing methods was used for the establishment of textile sector to imbibe vertical integration and economy of scale. State played an active role in the establishment of plastic sector. Developmental plans were designed to direct investments in targeted industries.

State has been continued to concentrate on the development of large-scale firms of the upstream industries while leaving the small-scale firms relatively freer. The factories were handed over to selected private entities or were turned into public enterprises. In Taiwan case, notion of the centrality of the state in the development of the country holds true. However, State has at times not only been a leader in the development but it has also become a follower actively assisting the private enterprise in their success whilst pursuing its goal of economic development. Moreover it was not the state pushing the firms into different sectors of the economy. It was the private enterprises which demanded for assistance and hence pulled the state in the direction toward certain sectors.

In light of numerical researches, price distortion score for Taiwan is lower in comparison with other developing countries whereas it has exhibited a highest growth giving splendidly consistent results for a strong inverse correlation between price distortion and economic growth.  Government has been actively intervening to alter the trade and industrial profile of the economy as deemed desirable.

Taiwan along with Korea is among the standing out countries benefiting from the import substitution to the overall growth in the manufacture output. Industrialist who emerged in the 1950s remained the industry giants till 60s and 70s. Taiwan has witnessed its resource being shifted from agriculture into industry and with-in industry from labor-intensive, low technology activities toward more capital intensive and higher technology activities. Though Taiwanese state has been able to achieve success in increase the accumulation of factor of production, Industrial targeting policies has largely been a failure with displacing growth from one industry to another without raising the aggregate output.  

Small and medium sized firms dominate the Taiwan export manufacturing sector which makes the centralized coordination by developmental state less conducive. Political schism between Nationalist party (Kuomintang or KMT) and Taiwanese small entrepreneurs make cooperation difficult discounting the notion of reciprocal consent. Taiwan has extensively focused on the widening of its industrial sector which is important in the early stages of industrialization. Widening of the industrial sector require generation of additional supplies of factor of production. Physical and human capital accumulation is required for the industrialization to proceed. The state had a directive role in 1960s which accelerated move into heavy and skill intensive industries. In the 1970s government resorted to promotional role driving away from labor-intensive industries toward heavy and skill-intensive industries. The push into the new capital and technology intensive industries in the mid 1970s supports the self regulating nature of market rather and anticipating these changes in advance.  During this era state, along with reaffirming its leadership role, was signaling about the value of profitable private sector. However, according to Galenson, Taiwan big push into capital and technology-intensive industries was state-led and not market led.

In the early 1970s Taiwan exports started facing protectionist threats. Increasing wages and competition in different sectors along with over-stretching of infrastructure were formidable obstacles to be faced by the industrialists. The sixth fourth-year plan aimed to address them through increased political leadership and political control initiated renewed emphasis on export orientation and signaling state support of targeted sectors and their subsectors. It also undertook huge increase in public sector investments for improving the physical infrastructure. Hence 1970s saw expansion in the role of public enterprise sector. In 1973 to 1975, Taiwan government was determined to reduce Taiwan’s vulnerability to the fluctuations in the prices of key factors of productions through increasing the capacity in heavy and chemical industries.

           

Conclusion:

Developmental state is characterized by few pilot agencies guiding the overall process of intervention with policy tools linked to the private sector performance through a structure of incentives. Civil society is weak and easily subordinated. States builds extensive coalition with industry and plays down leftist elements. The extent of state intervention and logic of developmental state depends upon five variables. These are extent of control by bureaucracy, social pressures, national security imperatives, economic conditions and globalization. Developmental state has commitment to private property and the market. The market is closely regulated by the state institutions which are responsible for the development of the economy. The mechanism of relationship is defined by the type of market structure, extent of centralization, timing of the development, openness of the economy, policies of the ruling coalition and nature of administrative tradition explains the nature and extent of state intervention.

In Japan, Korea and Taiwan has undergone industrialization through aggressive government intervention. Market has been guided by the authorities and competitive processes have been moderated. The nature of the government-business relation has changed irreversibly from the state led economic decision making to an increased emphasis on private sector taking more initiatives. Coordination, communication and cooperation have increased between the public and private sector over the course of time.         

 As the Japan’s economy matures, the role of MITI has declined with companies transforming themselves into world class operations with extraordinary competitive success. Japan distinguishes itself from most of the Western Europe states because of the near absence of state ownership. It prefers to have regulatory or predatory nature as compared to going for outright ownership, because regulation affords greater flexibility without the loss of state authority. Powerful private actors established alliances with politicians and bureaucrats in development of commerce and industry. Market conforming actions of the Japanese state has led to the market structure transformation in Japan. Japanese state has intervened into the market only to enable the private actors to limit and enchase state power simultaneously Control has been retained though jurisdiction of the state has been surrendered. These notions are in stark contrast to the bureaucratic dominance and the developmental state in Japan. The Japanese state is characterized by a high level of public-private cooperation, balance of bureaucratic autonomy and linkages with private sector.

South Korea entry into heavy industries and cotton textile exports provide evidence for the state intervention under the condition of late industrialization. It has actively pursued measures to solicit the change in the business behavior of the firms in light of the public objectives. In Taiwanese state is opposed too open market system actively helping to insure that resources went into the industries important of the future growth and military strength.  Multinational players may assume the role of being an important player but it can only happen after the state had a well established presence and has assumed leadership role from where it can direct activities rather by being driven the rationale for global profits.

Developmental state paradigm can no longer explain the postdevelopmentalism phase of Japan, South Korea or Taiwan. Bureaucracy is now relinquishing its self entrusted role of economic development and giving way powerful private sector which it can’t control. 

About The Author: Hamid Khan is a current student of Economics at lums. His areas of interest includes religion, developmental studies and South Asian economies..

How religion has been effective in the consolidation or nation building of a state?

The relations between the politics and religion have been much debated throughout the history. The extent to which religion should be involved in political affairs as well as the extent to which the state should be involved in religious matters has always been contested. The birth of nation states has even broadened this discussion. It is widely argued that state should have control over the temporal or earthly matters and the religion should be an instrument of eternal grace or the moral sphere of life. In this way St. Augustine favored the division and sharing of sovereignty. ‘In my research work I will explain the effectiveness of the application of religious values to the government polity that becomes state support of religion which then further elaborates whether religion has a legitimate right to influence state politics, proposing an alternative pattern by taking the cases of different nations like Israel, Pakistan, Iran and India’. Then I will attempt to give an answer to the question about the exact role of religion in the nation building processing. The research will also analyze the clash between the religious identity and the national identity. Samuel S.Mushi claims that throughout the history the state or the religious organizations have contest mainly for citizens’ primary loyalty, control of political process and authority over economic resources. [1] It will reveal the fact that religion is a vital instrument to create unity, but it is not able to define completely the national identity and the nation building process. However, the significant and functional role of religion cannot be denied.

The findings of the research are worth exploring because currently the world is torn between national versus religious identities. Individuals in different parts of the world are still facing this dilemma – whether to opt for primordial ties or religious identities or national identities, when it comes to represent themselves.  Countries like Israel and Pakistan seem to share nothing in common except the similar holy mission to secure a homeland for their communities. We see the crisis of their national identities in both countries because of the clash between state and nation. Both countries are experiencing an ambiguous role of religion in their national building. The paper argues that the role of religion can be best understood by analyzing its role in the homogenization process during nation consolidation. The main hypothesis of this paper which I attempt to explore is that the role of religion in the nation consolidation can be understood as a complex process but I believe that it has the capacity in providing the ideological glue that holds a nation together by creating a modern religious society. It is because political authorities try simultaneously both to empathize and to deny its salience to the construction or consolidation of the new state. The relation between the religious values and the political affairs can be discussed in two distinct phases. Firstly, it can be argued that a homogenous society can be created through the religious values and its applications by excluding the non-religious elements. Secondly the incorporation of the community to the majority one identified by civic, linguistic and other state features. It also attempts to explain different types of religious involvement in politics such as religion-state politics, intra-religion politics and inter-religion politics.

The war on terror after the 9/11 has fueled the discussion about the extent of role of religion in the political affairs. Western scholarship holds that Islamic civilization fuses religion and politics and this is main reason for the religious values to define and heavily influence the affairs of the state. Mohammad Waseem calls this an overly intellectual attitude towards Islam that mistakes values for facts, norms for practices and vision for reality. [2] This approach can be traced back to the classical Muslim thinkers where state was viewed as a mechanism through which the rule of Islamic law could be established but historical evidences defy this argument since Islamic movements in Muslim countries including Pakistan are seldom led or governed by any cleric in the pre modern age. The West claims to be the champion of the separation of the church and the state but we observe for the greater part of late fifteen hundred years that this separation, once alien to the political doctrine of Islam, has been the practice in most Islamic societies. However, history witnesses that in recent times ruling elites have appealed more and more often for the support of the clergy or Islamic organizations in their struggle to retain power in the face of grave challenges rooted in populist politics. Religious values and its application are being used as a tactic to consolidate the process of nation building by those who want to gain power or to remain in power. The politics of religion varies with social, economic and political conditions of a country making an attempt to choose among progressive, liberal and conservative which I will discuss in detail in my research work. I will focus on the ‘Religion and Comparative Perspective’ session of the course pack where the article by Samuel S. Mushi and Mohammad Waseem will be discussed in detail.

The problem of Identity in the Nation-Building Process:

It is being observed that, since 1980s and particularly after the end of cold war era, there has been the resurgence of religious movements worldwide. These religious elements claim to be instrumental in the identity formation and the cohesion of the communities. They are generating state-transforming effects in both national as well as international level so there is a need to uncover this interconnection between the religion and politics. It has the potential to exacerbate the regional disputes and may lead towards what Samuel Huntington has apocalyptically called ‘the clash of civilizations.' [3] We observe some impressive results like the case of Iran where religious parties are now firmly established in addition to other cases from the third world where religion is heavily involved in state politics in case of Pakistan, Sudan, Algeria, Afghanistan, and Egypt.  One can dismiss these religious uprisings as fundamentalists but their goals as well as motivations are as political as they are religious. Therefore they may be called as ‘religious nationalists’ because these forces strive to attain a national order based on religious values (the first phase as discussed above).

In recent times various movements of religious nationalism have been witnessed by humanity. Hindus and Sikhs in India in early 1980s for a separate state, militant Buddhists in Sri Lanka and Mongolia, Christian fundamentalist movements in Europe and in America, the famous Zionist movement in Israel and Islamic fundamentalism in Afghanistan, Pakistan and other Middle East and Central Asian states are obvious examples of religious nationalist movements. Unlike most of the developed countries where homogeneity of population exists, majority of these developing or third world states lack population homogeneity. Their population experience diversity in terms of ethnicity, linguistic, tribes, castes, etc. Religion therefore comes as a unifying factor in the nation building process and consolidates their identity.

The Case of Pakistan and Israel:

As earlier stated that Pakistan and Israel share a little in common except the similar holy mission to protect their own communities on the basis of religion they pursue. Israel, being a small country, has gone through a rough face since its independence but it has been able to pursue the democratization process in addition to its economic development. On the other hand Pakistan, once part of a much larger territorial and cultural entity i.e. Indian Subcontinent and British Raj, is still struggling to find a unifying force to consolidate the whole nation and to pursue the goal of democratization and economic development but it has remained a volatile and weak state through out the history. Some pundits even call it a ‘Failing State’ because of its persistent political, social and economic instability. The main common notion between the two countries is the crisis of national identity and it manifests the clash between state and nation. ‘Both countries are struggling through the ambiguous role of religion in the nation building and its capacity to affect the political process.’ [4]

For any state the notion of national identity is the key element towards the national building process. The crisis of national identity emerges when confusion prevails within the society as which is the powerful force in unifying the whole nation. Religious affiliations, castes, tribal identities, linguistic identities and most importantly ethnicity play a vital role in the national unity. In the case of Pakistan, according to Maryam Khan, it has always been a victim of ‘sub-nationalism’ i.e. we observe four main nations within the whole phase of Pakistani nationalism besides others. The dominant ideology is ethnicity where Punjabis, Sindhis, Balochis and Pakhtuns, give priority to their own ethic group unlike nationalism. Each group identifies itself through its ethnic identity and then through their national identity i.e. Pakistanis. However each group firstly identities itself as a Muslim identity and hence religious affiliations play a dominant role in the national identity process. The society at large is religious but the state’s outlook is secular or moderate and this creates the difficulty for the state to exercise its duties freely and pursue the agenda of national unity. ‘According to Stephen Cohen, Pakistan’s most distinct feature is not its potential as a failed state but its intricate interaction between the physical, political and legal entity known as the state of Pakistan and the idea of the Pakistani nation and this makes it more complex as Pakistani state often operates at cross purposes with the Pakistani nation.’ [5] He further points out that several concepts of Islam exist and state could not find a way to implement its Islamic identity. Hence the crisis of identity exists between the leaders who believe in liberal democracy and the Islamists who want a religious state.

Like Pakistan Israel too has experienced an extensive discord about its national identity in order to define the interconnection between the Israeli national identity and Jewish identity. We observe a clash between the secular Israeli national identity with a religious manifestation of Israeli national identity i.e. Judaism. The Zionist ideology plays a dominant role in the case of Israel. ‘The conflict exists between those who advocate a civic Israeli national identity (Israelis) and those who support an ethno religious identity of the Israeli community (Jews). Israeli identity accommodates all citizens of the Israel i.e. Jews and non-Jews while Jewish means an identification with a primordial mainly religious featured national identity (only Jewish).’ [6] Hence, the process of secularization on one hand and the growing religiosity is currently observed in the Israeli state.

Whether Religion has a legitimate right to influence State politics?

As stated earlier, according to Samuel S.Mushi, three factors play a crucial role in the consolidation of a nation i.e. citizens’ loyalties, control over political and economic resources. Religious elements as well as the state in complex milieu attempt to influence these factors and try to legitimize their role. Both of them draw their legitimacy from the collective loyalties of the citizens. States follow this pursuit through the democratization process and religious elements try to influence the primordial ties that exist among various communities and this creates a complex process. According to the primordial model (conservative view), nationalism is a process involving collective loyalties and identities and religion is considered as an important component of the national building process. ‘Scholars like A. Hastings explain the emergence of nationalism with regard to religion as they suggest a certain transformation of traditional religion that eventually leads to the birth of the nation states (nations and nationalism)’. [7] The modernist model (secular perspective) on the other hand considers religion which inhibits the growth of a nation and suggests the decay of religion. ‘Scholars like Gellner advocate that national movements have furthered the secularization discourse where idealized ethnic culture plays the central role rather than religion.’ [8] Nationalism, according to the nationalism literature, thus takes the place of religion and scholars like Greenfeld (1996) calls it a modern religion and we observe this from the example of France where if one calls religion bad then it is fine but if someone calls the nation bad then it is highly discouraged and repudiated.

Hence one can argue that religion exclusion lies in the homogenous population of the developed world which formed the basis of western civic nationalism. On the other hand the literature of ‘Religious Nationalism’ elucidates the public sphere and the collective national identity as religious and we witness this experience in the third world countries like Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan, etc. These third world countries have religious histories (national heritage and tradition), thus religion could not be ignored. Its proponents claim that religion can create a national identity and thus it is crucial to draw boundaries between religious and secular nationalism. This relation is more multifarious than it is generally assumed to be. Both these approaches respond to the same sorts of needs for collective identity, national consensus, ultimate loyalty and moral authority.

The Case of India and Iran:

Iran represents a complete example of a dominant religious society which was established by the Ayatollah Khomeini in 1979 by ousting the Shah dynasty of Iran. Iran derives its national identity through religion (Shiite Political Philosophy) which has immense influence over the affairs of the state s well as over Iranian culture. The basic idea was to establish an Islamic state similar to the one which existed during the time of Prophet PBUH. In recent time Iran is showing the signs of change and elements within this theocratic state are demanding liberal and democratic pursuits and a balance between religious and secular ideals. The religious forces in Iran are quite strong that voices of change are easily suppressed by this democratic theocracy. According to Khomeini who argues that the qualified Islamic Jurists (the concept of velayat-e faqih) have the potential to lead the nation in the process of national consolidation by pursuing the Islamic ideals.  ‘In his 1970 book, Hokumat-e Islami: Velayat-e faqih, Khomeini argued that government should be run in accordance to sharia, or Islamic law. For that to happen, an Islamic jurist—or faqih—must oversee the country's political structure.’[9]

In the case of India, its leaders were wise enough to realize and understand this intricate relationship between religion and politics. India, a majority Hindu state, offers little to religion and pursuing accommodative policies since India is a very diverse country in terms of language, ethnicity, caste system and religious identities.  Its leaders seemed allergic to religion and followed the ideals of secularism as their political agenda. ‘Yet there have been times when they have been forced to make concessions to religious forces almost against their wills. Indian constitution and subsequent parliamentary actions have given a great deal of public support to religious entities.’ [10] Even these accommodative policies and concessions have not been sufficient to curb the tide of religious politics in India and the events of 1980s and early 1990s (Hindutva movement, Operation Blue Star, Assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and her son Rajiv Gandhi,  Babri Mosque tragedy) witness this statement. These events for the first time in the Indian history brought the Hindu right into the power and marked the dominant role of religion in the national consolidation.

Conclusion:

The discussion so far brings us to the point where we can confidently argue that the religious values in any society cannot be taken lightly and this intricate relation between religion and politics must be defined and refined in the context of a particular society. ‘Religious nationalism (collective identity), unlike the West where separation between Church and the State exist, is not alien to the formation of the modern nation state. Non-Western modern national identities and nationalist movements provide religious narrative and myth, symbolism and ritual in the case of Iran, India, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka and Israel.’ [11]

Currently the nation state plays a crucial role in the world politics and its encounter with the religion has given birth, in some parts of the world, to a creation, in which religion has become the new ally of the nation state. The paper explains that the national identity crisis emerges because of the complex relationship between the state and the nation which is defined culturally, ethnically and more importantly religiously if we take the cases from the third world countries, some of which discussed above. The religion is a powerful instrument which creates a unifying force but it is not able to define completely the national identity. The functional role of religion can’t be denied sine it has the potential to solve the identity crisis. When a state fail to define national identity, when erosion of the power of the state occurs, and when the state is torn among different power groups, the state loses the ability to control the national identity crisis then religion comes into play to solve this dilemma of identity. It becomes easy for the religious elements to play the politics of the national consolidation when the state is incapacitated to create a unifying sense of national identity. The example of Pakistan and Israel clearly supports this notion. It is evident that this crisis exists because of the historical inability to separate religion from the national consolidation process in the developing nations.  Hence it can be concluded that the politics of religion varies with social, economic and political conditions of a country making an attempt to choose among progressive, liberal and conservative.

About The Author: Hamid Khan is a an alumni of Lahore University of Management Sciences. He received his Master's degree in Economics from LUMS. His areas of interest includes economics and social science. He can be reached at 2hmdKhan(at-the-rate)gmail.com..