‘An Impending NGO Elite and Democratisation in Pakistan: A Phenomenological Inquiry’

Thesis Summary: ‘My research examines the roles of internationally funded non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in democratisation, in the context of Pakistan. I argue that contrary to the mainstream academic literature on democratisation and constitutionalism which considers the roles of NGOs and civil society as self-evidently positive for building democratic culture and institutions, the internationally funded NGOs in Pakistan are forming a new social class that operates as an elitist group within the wider civil society. I call them NGelites. In Pakistan, NGelites have diverted the focus on democratisation from human rights advocacy, social movements, grass-roots mobilisation, volunteerism and ideological struggle to a projectised, highly paid, middle-class, bureaucratically managed and skilled closed network. They socialise with the political elite and military establishment to sustain minimal democratic governance as a compromise to benefit the governing elite. These empirical insights make a distinct contribution to critical democratisation studies and inform policymaking for democratisation and rule of law for the Global South. My research also explores the meanings of democracy, constitutionalism and civil society as viewed by NGO professionals, academics and politicians in Pakistan’