Political tolerance in Pakistan

1. Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Miss Mahreen
Political tolerance in Pakistan

2. Tolerance
“The founding fathers of this
country prescribed tolerance in
the marketplace of freely
flowing ideas as the key to the
democratic process and the
necessary condition for orderly
change and innovation in a
democratic society.”
Wednesday, January 21, 2009

3. Political Tolerance
“Tolerance is the cornerstone of a democratically enlightened
citizenry.”
What is political tolerance?
Why is tolerance a cornerstone of democracy/citizenship?
How do researchers measure levels of political tolerance?
Who would you predict is more politically tolerant: duty
citizens or engaged citizens?
Wednesday, January 21, 2009

4. Growing Tolerance
1950s
McCarthyism
Loyalty oaths
Segregated schools
Leadership was white, male,
Protestant
Wednesday, January 21, 2009

5. Growing Tolerance
1954: 31% scored high tolerance
1973: 55% scored high tolerance
Atheists, communists
Protesting war, pornographic
movies, sex education
Wednesday, January 21, 2009

6. Growing Tolerance
1976 - 2004; p. 85
Tolerance gradually
broadened
Communist +20
Atheist +19
Homosexual +20
Militarist +16
Racist +5
Wednesday, January 21, 2009

7. Predictors of Tolerance
Education tolerance
Younger tolerance
Civil rights/women’s rights tolerance
Open hostility lessened, overt expressions of intolerance less
frequent
Wednesday, January 21, 2009

8. Tolerance & Citizenship
Duty Citizen: may be less tolerant of unconventional or anti-
system political groups
Value duty and social order
Majoritarian
Engaged Citizen: may be more supportive of political
tolerance
Concern for social rights and protection of others
Balance conflicting political values
Wednesday, January 21, 2009

9. Civil Liberties and Tolerance
Post 9-11 debate on balancing freedom
and civil liberties while protecting
citizens
Patriot Act, Guantanamo,
warentless wiretapping
Obama Inaugural Speech
"As for our common defense, we
reject as false the choice between
our safety and our ideals"
Wednesday, January 21, 2009

10. Civil Liberties & Citizenship
“Feelings of citizen duty encourage individuals to support a
policy restricting civil liberties”
Especially in cases involving explicit terrorist threats
Duty citizens tend to “support policies that would restrict
potential terrorists, even if these policies raise basic civil
liberty questions”
Engaged citizens are “less supportive of government action
and more concerned with civil liberties”
Wednesday, January 21, 2009

11. “Racial, ethnic, religious, and political divisions remain part
of the American experience”
Expressions of tolerance differ from actual observed
behavior
Many examples of people who do unreasonable things to
their fellow citizens--and too many people watch and remain
silent
Not Total Tolerance
Wednesday, January 21, 2009