Support for militancy in Pakistan
Erik Voeten surveys some recent research:
The second paper finds that Pakistanis who are more favorable towards liberal democracy are also more favorable towards militant groups. The authors ascribe this finding to widespread beliefs among those who favor democracy that Muslim rights and sovereignty are being violated in Kashmir, although the relationship holds for support for all four militant groups.I guess that Osama Bin Laden made a wise choice when he chose to hide in a middle class suburb.
He also links to a paper (pdf) that suggests that democratization and economic development "may be irrelevant at best and might even be counterproductive" to reversing support for militancy in Pakistan.
Maybe it's time for Plan B - or is that C?
