Power Elites in Pakistan: Creation, Contestations, Continuity

Abstract

This study examines the creation of power elites in Pakistan and how they have come to acquire a prominent presence in this country’s economy. The article deals with an interesting paradox: how have power elites, in constant contestation with each other, managed to collectively maintain their presence in this country’s economy? The complex concept of power is reviewed here by deconstructing the state to understand where it lies and how it is deployed to attain different, even contradictory, objectives. This study highlights, in historical perspective, the way power has been employed, expressed, and legitimised. The exercise and maintenance of power is framed through an inter-disciplinary framework that encompasses political as well as socio-economic dimensions.