Pakistan

If you are interested in the law and/or are concerned about Pakistan, you must have some opinion about the last few days. While I can see why the "Emergency Rule is the only way to save the country" people think the way that they do, that idea suffers from a cynicism and shortsightedness that leads to many of the regretful, pessimistic moves any society makes in a time of great stress.

When Musharraf first came to power, he deposed the corrupt Nawaz Sharif (who had earlier defeated the very corrupt Bhutto administration in an election) and made the central point of his exercise the elimination of corruption. Unfortunately, his self-confidence over-ripened to the point where he now sees himself as Pakistan's only hope for improving out of its corrupt governmental tradition. In some ways, there is truth in that idea. The only real options for replacing him are two proven-corrupt leaders. However, in his desperate power grab, he is damning himself to a continuation of that corrupt tradition, even if he has not got his own "Mr. 10%" style sobriquet.

The situation strikes me as similar to the one in which the USA finds itself. Currently, we are the global hegemon who has been in power for around sixty years (give or take) and have been essentially unchallenged for almost twenty. America is, in my opinion, a better ruler for the world than China or India or the USSR would have been. However, rather than using our position to set up a world order under which we could all comfortably live even after America is no longer hegemonic, the USA has taken the shortsighted and cynical tack of doing everything possible and necessary to maintain that control. With the extent (and thus limits) of our power shown in Iraq, we are no longer the inestimatably mighty force in the world that we were and we have lost the moral ground on issues like torture, respect for democracy and human rights. As American power ebbs, the global situation is better than it was prior to our country's ascendency but much poorer than it could be had America directed its energy at an equitable, fair, safe and healthy system under which the world could operate after America was no longer directly policing the world.

Similarly, Musharraf has done very serious work in cutting back the corruption in Pakistan. The national highway police and road system, for example, are fit to be proud of now. However, without having done any work to engineer a political society based in law and systems rather than personality and influence, he has failed to provide for his country's success following is inexorably limited rule. That is the real tragedy of the emergency rule: there is no improving from here. He has sullied himself with this business to the point that he cannot be an effective anti-corruption worker any longer.