Governance and Ethno-Nationalism: Analyzing role of intellgentsia in shaping Pashtun Ethno-Nationalism

Abstract

Governance and ethno-nationalism has been closely interlinked in context of Pakistan. A strong central government endowed with all powers and authority to subdue the provincial governments has given birth to the politics of regionalism and ethnonationalism. The peripheral elite have strongly resisted the highly centralized pattern of governance. They have developed a strong counter-narrative to mobilize the marginalized ethnic groups. The ability of peripheral elites to politicize social, economic and cultural fault lines has hampered the creation of an integrated and coherent nation. It has prolonged the life span of ethnic politics for a period of seventy years. The advent of modern means of communication and the rapidly changing political environment has provided a fertile ground for the proliferation of nationalist sentiments. In this paper it has been argued that media and Pashtun Protection Movement or Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM) has enabled the Pashtun intelligentsia to shape the face of Pashtun Ethno-Nationalism. They have provided a platform and a means of communication for transmitting message to mobilize the masses