Local government dissolution in Karachi: chasm or catalyst?
Explores what happens when local government fails in North Nazimabad and how groups contest political, social and physical space
Abstract
Karachi’s history has left a city riven by tribal, ethnic and sectarian divisions, which exhibits dimensions of fragility typical of ‘post-conflict’ cities. Pakistan has faced many challenges in establishing transparent government, and local government dissolution in 2009 led to a rapid increase in informal service provision, ghettoisation of low-income settlements, as sectarian violence left large parts of the city ungovernable. Through a case study of North Nazimabad, this paper explores the ensuing chasm and governance mechanisms that filled the gap, examining what happens when local government fails, and how groups and communities contest political, social and physical space.
This work is part of the ‘Economic Recovery in Post-Conflict Cities: the Role of the Urban Informal Economy’ project supported by the Economic and Social Research Council and the UK Department for International Development.
Citation
Alison Brown & Saeed Ahmed (2016) Local government dissolution in Karachi: chasm or catalyst?, Third World Thematics: A TWQ Journal, 1:6, 879-897, DOI: 10.1080/23802014.2016.1315318