Nadeem F. Paracha is a researcher and senior columnist for Dawn Newspaper and Dawn.com. He is also the author of ten books on the social and political history of Pakistan.
While PTI’s online dominance is often taken as proof of overwhelming public support, digital visibility, electoral success and the ability to mobilise people on the streets are three very different measures of political strength.
From revolutionary France to contemporary Pakistan, radical movements have repeatedly demonstrated how the pursuit of political absolutism can become an instrument of self-destruction.
In an age of algorithmic outrage, identity politics and collapsing trust in institutions, the most outrageous claims can become expressions of loyalty and powerful instruments of persuasion.
The demand for a separate Karachi province is often presented as a battle between a Sindhi provincial administration and Mohajirs, but the city's communities have their own reasons to resist the idea.
Decentralised movements can mobilise millions without a central command, but their greatest strength can also become their greatest weakness. Once the common enemy disappears, what holds the movement together?
