Democratization in Political Parties of Pakistan: Mediating Role of Leadership in the Intra-Party Democracy

Abstract

Aim of this article was to explore the democratization in Pakistan’s political parties, which is vital for strengthening democracies. Most of political parties lack intra-party democracy (IPD). This study revealed the significant concepts to understand the democratization. These concepts were institutionalization, inclusiveness and decentralization. Role of leadership was analyzed as mediating effects on the intra-party democracy. This article displayed those facets of democratization positively, significantly and strongly associated with intra-party democracy. Partial mediating role of leadership was found between facets of democratization and democratization in the political parties of the country. Among sociodemographic variables, age and education have significant effects on respondents’ views. The study recommends intra-party democracy should be implemented in letter and spirit which will strengthen the democracy in the country. The study also presented implications for the future researchers on IPD.

         Keywords: political parties; intra-party democracy; institutionalization; decentralization; democratization; inclusiveness; Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N); Pakistan People’s Party-Parliamentarian (PPP-P)