Social and Cultural Anthropology Commons^™

Power And Patronage In Pakistan, Stephen Lyon

Faculty & Staff Publications

Asymmetrical power relationships are found throughout Pakistan's Punjabi and Pukhtun communities. This thesis argues that these relationships must be examined as manifestations of cultural continuity rather than as separate structures. The various cultures of Pakistan display certain common cultural features which suggest a reexamination of past analytical divisions of tribe and peasant societies. This thesis looks at the ways power is expressed, accumulated and maintained in three social contexts: kinship, caste and political relationships. These three social contexts are embedded within a collection of 'hybridising' cultures (i.e. cultures which exhibit strong mechanisms for cultural accommodation without loss of 'identity'). Socialisation …