Distinguished Speaker Lecture Series
Center of Business and Economic Research
“Imagining Madina: Repertoires of Populism in Pakistan” by Dr. Sumrin Kalia

In 2018 elections, the slogan of the ‘State of Madina’ emerged a populous slogan in Pakistan. This book studies right-wing populism in Pakistan which forge nationalist imaginations of Madina, and asks; How does populism emerge and succeed as a challenge to established political actors and institutions? Using ethnographic methods, a comparative approach and focus on interactions between populist parties and their audience, this book argues that; populism gains legitimacy through transmutation of existing logics, practices, and networks of its audience.