On Tuesday, Shahid Abbasi was appointed as Prime Minister of Pakistan, following the ouster of his predecessor, Nawaz Sharif the week before. Nawaz was forced to resign last Friday when the Supreme Court disqualified him from office over allegations of corruption. However the newly-minted Prime Minister is seen as a seat-warmer for Nawaz Sharif’s younger brother, Shahbaz Sharif, who was named the ruling party’s political successor. Today, we look at developments in this key South Asian country and how it tells us about how democracy might progress even in the most authoritarian of circumstances.