NATIONS are not always brought down by enemies from outside. Sometimes they weaken themselves from within: institutions are hollowed out, principles are sacrificed for expediency, personalities are placed above the law and then everyone asks: How did we get here? We were meant to build a system in which Parliament represented the people, the judiciary upheld justice, the military defended the country and the civil service served the state. More than seven decades later, many of these institutions still lack the stability and public trust that a durable state requires. There is no single cause and no single culprit. But one distinction is essential: responsibility may be shared, but power is not. The greater the authority, the greater the responsibility. Military interventions repeatedly disrupted democratic continuity. Constitutions were suspended and elected governments removed. Yet blaming the failure of democracy entirely on generals tells only part of the story. Military rulers found politicians and parties willing to work with them, while civilian politicians also sought support from unelected centres of power. A damaging rule took hold: if unconstitutional interference hurts us, it is dictatorship; if it helps us, it is expediency.

The judiciary cannot be exempt from this reckoning. A judge’s loyalty is to the Constitution, the law and justice, not to a government, party or........

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