IT is a remarkable incident even by the standards of the most raucous of legislatures anywhere. As the Kosovo parliament debated ratifying a border agreement with Montenegro, a condition for Kosovo citizens to gain visa-free EU travel, legislators from a far-right opposition party set off canisters of tear gas inside the chamber. The dangerous stunt forced legislators to evacuate the premises, but the vote was not derailed and the border agreement has now been ratified. Democracy has won in Kosovo. Yet, as the violent protest by a handful of far-right opposition legislators showed, the rule of law in young democracies such as Kosovo’s, or countries transitioning towards democracy, can be shaken by miscreants and requires staunch defence by those invested in the democratic project. The reality is that anti-democrats can hide behind the trappings of democracy while trying to achieve regressive ends. Luckily for Kosovo’s democracy, a small group of spoilers was only able to garner bad international publicity for themselves as opposed to driving a wedge between Kosovo and mainstream Europe.

Pakistan’s assemblies have witnessed several rowdy disruptions over the decades, but in this era, the transition to democracy has been relatively stable, at least inside the assemblies. The recent Senate polls produced angry sloganeering, but no actual violence or fisticuffs. The violence near parliament in 2014 during Imran Khan’s and Tahirul Qadri’s dharnas remains a black mark — although perhaps Mr Khan’s lack of interest in parliamentary affairs has spared the country ugly scenes inside the house. But as a general election approaches, political divisions grow more extreme, and the war between Nawaz Sharif and the institutions continues to cast a pall over the democratic system, the possibility of violence breaking out remains high. The recent shoe-throwing incidents were universally condemned and appear to have abated, but the dangers are real. Both inside and outside parliament, the interests of democracy must be kept foremost.

Published in Dawn, March 24th, 2018