Social Factors Hindering Political Participation in Pakistan: A Review Article

Background of Study: In Pakistan, political process has been distracted due to many reasons especially lack of political participation. Political participation is citizens’ right but many social factors hinder political participation. This is the reason common people of Pakistan feel secluded from political process. Objective: To conduct a systematic review to identify and explore factors which hinder political participation in Pakistan. Methods: This was a descriptive systematic review of literature pertaining to social factors that hinder the political will to participate the political process. Fifty research articles were reviewed to identify the significant factors hampering political participation in Pakistan. Conclusion: Factors like lack of interest, youth participation, voting behaviour, lack of trust, corruption, oligarchy, inherited politics, caste system and illiteracy were found to be significant as barriers in the way of political participation. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n23p1933