"Elective Feudalism"

I was trying to get a little context on things in Pakistan these days, and I found an interesting post by William Dalrymple here. He uses the term "elective feudalism" to describe what he calls "Pakistan’s strange variety of democracy." It's an interesting term to add to the repertoire. This is actually a common way that those who follow Pakistan's history and politics tend to interpret the political style and support base of Pakistan's civilian leaders. It helps to clarify the unsavoriness of the choices that citizens of Pakistan face in helping to decide the political trajectory of their country---a choice that may be just as much about issues of exclusion and social mobility as they are about debates over Islamism.