THE GARRISON STATE PARADOX: MILITARY CULTURE, STATE EFFICIENCY, AND DEMOCRATIC GOVERNANCE; A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF PRUSSIA AND PAKISTAN

Abstract

This paper will analyse how military culture, state efficiency, and democratic governance relate by providing a comparative study of the Prussia (1800-1945) and Pakistan (1947-2025). The study addresses the role of militarized state institutions in governance and maintains that although a military institution can boost administrative capacity in the short run, the prolonged military supremacy weakens democracy and long-term state performance. The analysis focuses on some major questions: How did Australian military culture assist in bringing efficiency to the state and what were the effects on the development of democracy? What is the role of the military set up in governance and civilian rule in Pakistan? What are the parallels between the Prussian militarism and the civil-military relationships that the country of Pakistan has? And what can be learned by comparing the two? How do these conditions make military institutions compatible with democratic governance and sustainable development? A comparative historical approach compares two experiences of Prussia and Pakistan, which were evaluated in terms of the interrelation between military strength and government. Based on the theories of civil-military relations, hybrid regimes and state capacity, the study reveals how it is through militarization that state apparatuses are empowered yet this leads to stunted democratic consolidation. These findings can improve the literature on state governance and democratic resilience because it explains the danger of military overreach when a weak democracy is involved. Finally, the analysis highlights the theoretical importance of discovering the military impact on governance and proposes policy suggestions to address the situation by returning civilian domination and enhancing democratic institutions with significant effects on other nations undergoing similar difficulties. And the article will wraps up with policy recommendations on restoring civilian supremacy and cementing the democratic institutions by decolonizing them of military expansion in the affected states