This volume examines the trajectory of Pakistan’s democratic transition and the implications of this change for its security.
In May 2013, for the first time in its 66-year history, Pakistan saw an elected government complete a full term in office and transfer power through the ballot box to another civilian government. At this important moment in Pakistan’s history, this collection brings together twelve leading academics and writers with an aim to provide a far-reaching analysis of the current situation in Pakistan and emergent trends. Drawing on history, diverse theoretical perspectives, and empirical evidence, three themed sections deal respectively with democratic transition (including Islam and democracy, civil-military relations, and economics), contested borders and contested spaces (the Pashtun belt, Kashmir, and intra-Islamic conflict), and regionalism (bilateral relations from both Pakistani and Indian perspectives, US-Pakistan relations, and nuclear weapons dynamics). Together the contributors explore the status of Pakistan’s democratic transition, contemporary security dynamics, and wider regional security and political dynamics, and the complex interplay of the three, to provide a wide-ranging analysis of Pakistan’s contemporary national and regional challenges, its impact on the region, and evidence of some positive trends for Pakistan’s future.
The book will be of much interest to students of South Asian politics, Asian security, governance, and IR in general as well as policy-makers, diplomats, and military professionals.
Introduction: Democratic Transition and Security in Pakistan, Shaun Gregory 1. Democratic Transition and Security in Pakistan: Historical Perspectives, Ian Talbot 2. Pakistan's Modernism: A Hybrid Theocracy, Ayesha Siddiqa 3. Democratic Transition and Civil-military Relations in Pakistan: The Limits of Theory, Shaun Gregory 4. From Boom to Bust: Economic Growth and Security in Pakistan 2003-2013, Matthew McCartney 5. Pushtun Identity Formation and Taliban Politics: Grand Narratives and the Contemporary Searchlight, Iftikhar Malik 6. The Taliban and the ‘Pakistani Reservoir’: On the Importance of the Afghan Community in Pakistan for the Taliban’s Military Effort, Antonio Giustozzi 7. Kashmir and its Regional Context, Self-determination and Prospects for Peace, Victoria Schofield 8. Mapping the Politics of Ahmadi Exclusion and the Rise of Khatam-i-Nubuwwat in Pakistan, Tahir Kamran 9. Pakistan-Indian Pathways to South Asian Peace, Ishtiaq Ahmad 10. India's Perspectives: Tensions and Talks, Rahul Roy-Chaudhury 11.Post-Election Blues: Pakistan-US Relations and Withdrawal from Afghanistan, Yunas Samad 12. Democratic Transition and Pakistan's Nuclear Weapons, Bhumitra Chakma Conclusion, Shaun Gregory
Biography
Shaun Gregory is Director of the Pakistan Security Research Unit (PSRU) and Director of the Durham Global Security Institute (DGSI), School of Government and International Affairs, Durham University, UK. He is co-editor of Pakistan: State and Society in Flux (Routledge 2013).
