1st Edition

Nation, Territory, and Globalization in Pakistan Traversing the Margins

By Chad Haines Copyright 2012
    168 Pages 3 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    168 Pages
    by Routledge

    The Karakoram Highway was constructed by the Pakistani state in the 1970s as a major development project that furthered the national interest and solidified state control over the disputed region of northern Pakistan. Focusing on this highway, this book provides a unique analysis of the links between space, travel and history in the formation of the Pakistani nation-state.

    The book discusses how the highway was a symbol for an imagined national identity, and goes on to look at how it offered Pakistan a pre-Partition history and a fixed territory, by providing a historical link to the Silk Route and a contemporary geographical linkage to Central Asia. Examining the influence of the diverse travellers along the Karakoram Highway, the book shows how global flows of development, trade, labour, and tourism have remapped the Pakistani nation-state and reshaped the local. Providing a fresh perspective on the nation-state of Pakistan, this book is an important contribution to studies on South Asian History, Anthropology, Politics and Geography.

    Introduction  1. Mapping Liminal Territories: Frontierization and the Making of the Gilgit Agency  2. Landscaping the Colonial State: Rerouting the Gilgit Agency 3. Orienting National Horizons: The Silk Route Imagined  4. Emplacing the Karakoram Highway: From Tourist Spots to Truck Stops  5. Policing Destinations: Tradition, Gender and Spaces of Power  6. Conclusion

    Biography

    Chad Haines is Assistant Research Professor with the Centre for the Study of Religion and Conflict at Arizona State University. His research interests include globalization, nation-state formation, Colonialism/Post Colonialism, urban transformation, tourism, travel and the anthropology of space and place, particularly in the context of South Asia and the Muslim World.