CSS 2022 Solved Current Affairs Past Papers | Political System for Good Governance in Pakistan

The following question of CSS Current Affairs 2022 is solved by Sir Ammar Hashmi, the best Current Affairs Coach, on the guided pattern of Sir Syed Kazim Ali, which he taught to his students, scoring the highest marks in compulsory subjects for years. This solved past paper question is uploaded to help aspirants understand how to crack a topic or question, how to write relevantly, what coherence is, and how to include and connect ideas, opinions, and suggestions to score the maximum.

Question Breakdown

This question has two parts. The first requires us to draft our own but practical system that will result in good governance in Pakistan, and the second involves elaborating on the reasons and conditions for the success of this proposed system.

Outline

1-Introduction

2-An Alternative Form of Government that can Replace the Presidential and the Parliamentary forms of Government

3-Why the Semi-Direct Democratic System is Better than the Parliamentary and the Presidential Systems

• ✓Accountability and Transparency: Through referendums and recalls, citizens hold the government accountable.
  • Case in Point: Germany’s federal court of auditors
• ✓Citizens’ Direct Participation in the Democratic System: Citizens participate through direct democratic mechanisms, such as referendums, recalls, and initiatives.
  • Case in Point: Turkey’s Democracy System
• ✓Citizens Representation: Citizens select random people who decide on public policies
  • Case in Point: Uzbekistan’s and Iran’s Models of Democracy
• ✓Citizens-formulated Laws and Regulations: Citizens are involved in proposing and voting on laws.
  • Case in Point: Indonesia’s system
• ✓Participation in Budgeting: While allocating funds, citizens participate actively in the decision-making
  • Case in Point: Germany’s and Iceland’s Models of Governance
• ✓Sortition and Selection of the ablest: People are randomly selected to represent citizens’ choices in decision-making.
  • Case in Point: Hazrat Umar’s (RA) model of governance

4-Conditions That Guarantee the Success of a Semi-Direct Democratic System

• ✓Political Socialization
  • Political culture and awareness are necessary to ensure the success of a Hybrid political system.
• ✓Independent Institutions
  • The institutions should not be biased in ensuring the hybrid system works fully.
• ✓Sortition
  • People who are going to represent the public must be randomly selected.
• ✓Time-to-Time Evaluation
  • The progress of the Hybrid political system should be kept an eye on to ensure it stays on the right track.

5-Critical Analysis

6-Conclusion

 

Answer to the Question

Introduction

The world we live in today has been through phases of evolution in political, social and economic spheres. In the past, all people knew were the laws of nature, and they had to abide by what those laws authorized. However, the natural laws could not be applied to socio-cultural aspects of human life, thus allowing evolution in those laws. Feudalism replaced the laws of nature, then Monarchy, and finally, in the modern states, Democracy, which later on was divided into presidential and parliamentary forms of government. Pakistan, too, has remained in a state of flux between the two forms of government since its independence, but none could make the country reach its glory. This proves that these forms of government do not suit Pakistan. There is a dire need for another form of government that can meet the expectations of the people of Pakistan. And that form of government is aSemi-Direct Democratic System or Hybrid system. Having amalgamated the best features of the previous forms of government, it can push Pakistan’s governance structure to the seacoast from the middle of the deep sea.

An Alternative Form of Government that can Replace the Presidential and the Parliamentary Forms of Government

Before explaining why the Hybrid system is better than the previous presidential and parliamentary forms, it is imperative to shed some light on the Hybrid system. It is a form of government that combines the good aspects of both Presidential and Parliamentary forms to form an effective governance model that can ensure the rights and liberties of citizens without the alienation of the state’s importance. It excludes the loopholes of the previous forms of government and only amalgamates the pros, ensuring the formation of the best model. For example, Iceland, Taiwan, and Germany have adopted this governance model, which has led to their socio-economic development. Pakistan can also adopt this model and can use it to its benefit.

Why the Semi-Direct Democratic System is Better Than the Parliamentary and the Presidential Systems

• Accountability and Transparency

The supremacy of a Hybrid system over other forms can be explained by considering the following reasons. First, the Hybrid system ensures accountability in a true sense. Citizens participate directly in electing their representatives through public opinion. The representatives have kept an eye on and can be removed from public office through referendums or recalls any time they fail to meet the public’s demands or get involved in immoral affairs. Moreover, the random selection of representatives also ensures accountability indirectly. Germany’s Federal Court of Auditors, established by the hybrid political system, is an excellent example of how the Hybrid System promotes accountability.

• Citizens’ Direct Participation in Democratic Mechanisms

Second, the hybrid system makes direct participation possible for citizens. Popular systems remain in vogue in a true sense. People can directly participate in decision-making, elections, public policy formation, or any other general meeting, as with Turkey’s political system. The government stands on a base made by the people of the country. The Hybrid system allows referendums, initiatives, and recalls, giving value to popular sovereignty and encouraging public participation.

• Citizens Representation

Third, this system also shares some features with a representative form of government. For instance, it allows citizens to select the ablest people on their behalf who can participate in high-scale meetings and decide on public policies. Iran’s and Uzbekistan’s political systems present an excellent example of how this system makes citizens select the best people for their representation. This brings uniformity in indecision-making and decreases deadlocks between the government and the citizens of the estate. Furthermore, this feature also values popular sovereignty.

• Citizens-formulated Laws and Regulations

Fourth, public laws are made in consultation with citizens and are shaped mainly by public opinion, proving that the Hybrid system truly values the political rights of the public. In Indonesia, this feature has been in vogue for a long time, making the Indonesians politically aware and socialized to participate actively in political affairs. Nevertheless, whenever a law is formulated that is against the sentiments of the people, the latter can quickly nullify it via referendums and recalls. This shows how the hybrid system encourages the involvement of laws that are of collective benefit and preserve the people’s fundamental rights.

• Participation in Budgeting

Fifth, citizens can also take part in budgetary decision-making. People are allowed to discuss monetary policies and allocate funds for collective benefits. As with Germany and Ireland, citizens play active roles in budget formulation and allocation. Every aspect of the people is kept in view, and funds are disbursed accordingly. This waters the soil for a state’s social and economic growth in a bottom-to-top strategy, enhancing the basic developmental works in the state.

• Sortition and Selection of the Ables

Sixth, random selection of representatives is one of the most important features of the Hybrid system. It allows the selection of the wise and ablest people for policymaking; thus, it discourages corruption, party politics, and polarization in a state, promoting peace and prosperity. Hazrat Umar’s RA’s government model is one of those governance models where sortition is in vogue and has successfully promoted goodwill and prosperity. All these features signify the importance of the hybrid political system over the old systems, such as the presidential and parliamentary systems.

Conditions That Guarantee the Success of a Semi-Direct Democratic System

• Political Socialization

Having said that, it must be kept in mind that despite being a better governance model, the hybrid system also needs some factors to be aligned together for better functioning. For example, a state or a country can only perform better and be governed better when all its people are politically socialized. Citizens must know political norms, culture, and values and have political awareness. This way, the public can easily interact with their representatives and make the model run smoothly.

• Independent Institutions

Second, the other important pre-requisite that enables the Hybrid system to flourish is the independence of state institutions. A state with politicized or biased institutions can not properly carry out its functions. For instance, most of the institutions in Pakistan are politicized, hindering their performance and leading to bad governance. Thus, independent institutions are inevitable for good governance.

• Sortition

Third, to prevent bias and political conflicts, random selection of representatives proves the best way. Representatives must be selected based on their skills and qualifications, and their selection must be totally based on sortition, as is done in Iceland. This makes governance a kind of meritocratic and technocratic, which, as in the case of Iceland, helps improve governance. Moreover, sortition also prevents party politics, politicization, and polarization, making it a good choice for Pakistan.

• Time-to-Time Evaluation

Fourth, for the Hybrid system to make good governance prevail, its evaluation from time to time is a must. The system’s progress should be observed, and timely intervention, whenever required,             is necessary to keep the system working smoothly. If there is any change necessitated in policies, citizens may, at any time, amend the policies for good. These factors make the Hybrid system function to its fullest.

Critical Analysis

Critically, Pakistan, as it is known, has suffered a lot at the hands of politicians and their poor management. The frequent alternation between the presidential and the parliamentary forms has aggravated Pakistan’s frail condition. This has never let Pakistan develop socially, politically, or economically. Unless and Until Pakistan adopts a new form of government that suits its political environment, it is next to impossible to see Pakistan out of the abyss. Out of all systems, that system is the hybrid system, an alloy of the good features of both the presidential and the parliamentary forms.

Conclusion

To conclude, the Hybrid system, if adopted by Pakistan, can alleviate its ailing condition. Pakistan has witnessed many indignities at the hands of previous systems since its independence. However, it’s time to replace the old ones with the new ones. This system, having various good features, like sortition, direct democratic features, citizen involvement, and accountability, can prove beneficial.

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