Middle East Uprising. Illustration by Sam Pilgrim.

For many Pakistanis, watching the uprisings in the Middle East brings on a sense of déjà vu. Only three years ago Pakistanis rebelled against their own government to finally depose General Musharraf, another self-proclaimed leader who considered himself indispensible. Sadly, the world did not pay much attention. Over the past few months, however, the international community has eagerly followed the uprising of the masses in the Middle East. For the first time in a generation, protesters are taking on the autocrats, monarchs, and despots who have for centuries oppressed their people and squandered the wealth of their nations.

There are a number of similarities in the conditions that led to the 2008 uprising in the Pakistan and the Arab awakenings in the Middle East. Socio-economic inequality has grown in both places over the last decade. While Pakistan’s economy grew by 6% between 2002 and 2007, the elite classes benefitted most from the boom. In the Middle East, profits generated from the sale of valuable national assets, particularly oil, have flowed to elites friendly to the ruling regime for decades. The global financial crisis, increasing food and oil prices and rising unemployment further exacerbated the growing discontent among the masses. The explosion in popularity of private news channels in Pakistan, and emergence of channels such as Al-Jazeera, facilitated the political awakening of the people from Karachi to Cairo. These developments provided the masses with access to real-time information and reduced the ability of the authoritarian regimes to censor or manipulate news. All that was required was for someone to strike a match (which in Tunisia, was literally the case).

But the Pakistani example illustrates that a change in leadership does not solve the problem of reforming the political system. The Musharrafs, Mubaraks and Ben Alis of the world may depart the political stage, but overturning the system that brought them to power requires a much greater resolve and a much longer struggle. A democratic system depends crucially on the strength of civilian institutions, such as the legislature, judiciary, bureaucracy, electoral commission and media. These institutions, however, require time to develop and mature. Whether public pressure can be sustained long enough for the critical state institutions to take shape remains to be seen. Pakistan has achieved mixed results in this regard. Since Musharraf, while the independent press and judiciary have consolidated their power, other important institutions, notably the legislature, civil bureaucracy and electoral commission, still lack the independence and strength required to resist the emergence of a future authoritarian regime.

However, the revolutions in the Middle East demonstrate that Muslim societies are compatible with modern ideas of democracy, liberty and freedom. For decades, Muslim leaders have sold their people the myth that in the absence of an authoritarian regime, their respective countries would plunge into extremism and become theocracies. The current uprising in the Middle East has been led by the young, educated, middle class and moderate sections of the society and has overwhelmingly exhibited liberal and democratic fervour. Similarly, in Pakistan 2008 elections, the moderate and liberal political parties emerged triumphant. If challenging Israel’s oppression and undermining undue US influence in the region was the goal, then Muslim youth, using mass mobilisation, have achieved more in just two months than what Al-Qaeda has achieved in the past two decades. The revolutions have shown that democratic and peaceful struggle can effectively usher political change.

The Arab awakening may well define the future political trajectory of the Middle East. However, the greater challenge of developing a sustainable democratic system of governance still lies ahead. Events so far demonstrate that the masses crave freedom and justice. These tendencies will grow stronger as young people exploit technological innovation to communicate with one another and express their political hopes and grievances more effectively. Perhaps other democratic movements around the world will be inspired by the changes in the Middle East, and the events of the spring will apply pressure for reform on other authoritarian regimes. Certainly, the events in the Middle East will refocus Pakistanis’ efforts to improve their democratic system. The world may have just witnessed the beginnings of a democratic renaissance in the broader Muslim world. Only time will tell.