FROM POPULISM TO POLITICAL POLARIZATION:BHUTTO’S ROLE IN SHAPING MODERN PAKISTANI POLITICS

Abstract

This article traces Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s impact on modern Pakistani politics and assesses how his brand of populism bequeathed a polity referred to even now for its deeply polarized political landscape. The historical and political setting of Bhutto’s rise is in the backdrop of post 1971 war, national disillusionment and his masses appeal through charismatic leadership and populist rhetoric. It argues that Bhutto’s (socialist, Islamist, anti-elite) policies changed the face of political contestation in Pakistan not only, but also left a legacy of divisive politics, emotionally charged electoral campaigns and personality driven party structures. These dynamics have helped in generating a polarized and present political discourse. The article specifically analyses the values of mass mobilization, political institutionalization, civil military relations and ideological narratives. It looks at how the centralization of authority, sidelining of dissent, and instilling of a cult of personality all became aspects of state policy that were partly emulated by and partly reacted to by many later leaders, including civilian and military ones, who followed Bhutto. The article argues that it is a double-edged sword legacy because, on one hand, Bhutto made political participation democratic, but, on the other, he gave rise to political division and ideological extremism. This article provides a nuanced view of how it is, after all these years, Bhutto’s populism continues to inform the development of Pakistani politics, not as a piece of history, but as both inspiration and controversy.