Republic Policy does not see society and governance as two separate spheres. They are parts of the same system. The quality of governance is ultimately shaped by the political expectations, civic understanding and institutional habits of society itself. Reforming governance, therefore, also requires reforming the relationship between citizens and the state.
Pakistan’s political culture offers a clear example. A legislator is constitutionally expected to focus primarily on legislation, representation and oversight of the executive. Yet politicians often spend much of their political energy dealing with local issues: roads, gas connections, electricity, government jobs and other individual or community demands.
Why does this happen?
Because this is often what voters expect from them. Citizens rarely ask their representatives how many laws they helped improve, how effectively they scrutinised the provincial or federal government, or how they performed in legislative committees. Instead, political performance is frequently judged by whether a politician can secure a road, arrange a gas connection, influence a government department or help someone obtain a public-sector job.
This reveals a deeper institutional problem: there is a missing layer between the citizen and the higher levels of the state.
That space should be occupied by strong and functioning local governments.
Road maintenance, sanitation, local infrastructure and many everyday municipal services should primarily be addressed through institutions of local governance rather than becoming the daily political responsibility of legislators. When local governments are weak or absent, citizens naturally take their problems upward—to members of provincial and national legislatures.
The consequences are serious. Legislators become informal problem-solvers instead of lawmakers, while citizens begin to view political representation as a source of personal or local patronage rather than legislation and accountability.
Pakistan cannot improve governance merely by demanding better politicians. It must also build institutions that allow citizens to demand the right things from the right representatives.
Strong local government is therefore not simply an administrative reform. It is essential to rebuilding the relationship between society, representation and the state.
