In a recent text, British political philosopher, David Runciman intriguingly suggests that democracy is dead except that the news hasn’t reached us yet. How do we think through this provocative statement? If previously in the 20th century, the demise of democratic polities in different societies took visible forms of open, violent rebellions and military coups, is its demise in today’s world taking different forms? What forms might these be? Are the democratic institutions being undone precisely through a recourse to these very institutions, that is to say, is democracy undoing itself?

Usurpation of democratic institutions, voices, sensibilities and processes through neo-liberal crony capitalism, democratically instituted majoritarian political formations, cataclysmic technological mutations led by new social media and generative AI, extreme deepening of inequities and ongoing and seemingly irreversible ecological crisis, all perhaps index the truism that inhere Runciman’s prophetic proclamations. We must note here the irony of all of this given the “End of History” celebrations of liberal scholars and global public in the early 1990s when democracy seemed to be the only remaining plausible form of polity, following the collapse of the communist states.

In this context, we must ask how have the South Asian democracies fared in recent decades? In the aftermath of the Cold War, democracy seemed to be flourishing in South Asia: India’s one-party dominance gave way to coalition politics, Pakistan witnessed movements towards civilian rule, Nepal transitioned from a monarchy into a federal republic and Sri Lanka and Maldives experienced increased political stability. However, in the last decade, this deepening of democracy has led to the rise of strong populist leaders. Many argue that these populist leaders have eroded rule of law and normalized violence. They have used constitutional and legal framework to erode civil liberties and transform their states into majoritarian regimes. Despite these challenges, recent political developments- such as restoration of opposition in India’s parliament, success of Imran Khan’s party in the recent election despite a ban and end of Hasina’s rule by the student-led movement in Bangladesh- perhaps suggest that the popular will has slowed down the wholesome decline of the South Asia into majoritarian polities.

So perhaps democracy has an afterlife in South Asia as much as in other parts of the world. However, we must consider the question that if democracy like any other polity has had its own origins, its time of rise and fall, and if it has indeed reached that terminal time, what next is in store for us? What is the nature of polity we inhabit – perhaps in its early stages- that we still mis-name democracy?

At this international conference, we will assess the state of democracyin the region. Our discussion will be guided by the following questions: