Andrew Wilder

Wilder argues that for the large amounts of foreign aid pouring into Pakistan to have significant benefit, the government of Pakistan and its international donors will have to prioritize supporting a politically astute public administration reform (PAR) program. He describes how the fundamental obstacles to PAR in Pakistan are political in nature and not due to a lack of technical expertise or knowledge of what needs to be done. The main political challenge is that those with the power to push for reform – namely the military, politicians and civil servants themselves – have historically had a vested interest in maintaining the status quo. This paper argues that devising political strategies and tactics to overcome disincentives for reform, combined with creating a broader public constituency for reform, will be required if critically needed public administration reform efforts are to succeed in Pakistan.