PAKISTAN: BEYOND THE ‘CRISIS STATE’ BY MALEEHA LODHI — this book provides an analysis of Pakistan’s political, economic, social, foreign policy and governance challenges. It brings together an extraordinary array of leading experts who debate Pakistan’s strengths and weaknesses and offer ways out of its current predicament. The book also discusses the complex interplay between domestic developments and external factors including great power interests that are so central to the Pakistan story. Lodhi and her contributors contend that Pakistan and its people have the capacity to transform their country into a stable, modern Muslim state, but bold reforms will be needed to bring about this outcome.
CONFLICT MANAGEMENT & VISION FOR A SECULAR PAKISTAN: A COMPARATIVE STUDY By Moonis Ahmar — the book aims to examine the vision for Pakistan perceived by the founders of the country. Be it sectarian, ethnic, or resource based conflicts, the lack of a secular approach by various regimes of Pakistan since 1947 until today has augmented the sense of insecurity and instability in the country. The book argues that religious militancy and violence can be successfully dealt with by introducing a secular order. This research aims to develop an understanding of a secular approach and mindset in order to unleash the process of conflict management in Pakistan based on the lessons which can be learned from the experiences of European, Turkish, Indian and Indonesian experiments with secularism.
PAKISTAN IN THE 20TH CENTURY: A POLITICAL HISTORY BY LAWRENCE ZIRING — the 50th anniversary of Pakistan’s independence was a time for stock-taking. Ushered amidst great hope and unprecedented bloodshed, Pakistan has seemingly lurched from crisis to crisis as its politicians and leaders searched for solutions to its myriad problems. Has the reality measured up to the vision that was Pakistan? In this well-researched, analytical account, Lawrence Ziring looks at the path Pakistan has taken and what it has achieved and provides some thoughts on the future course and direction of the nation.
PAKISTAN’S FOREIGN POLICY: A REAPPRAISAL SECOND EDITION BY SHAHID M AMIN — the book is based on the author’s personal observations during his thirty-nine years of diplomatic service as Pakistan’s Ambassador and Special Envoy to various countries around the world. It is a penetrating analysis of Pakistan’s foreign policy from the time of Independence in 1947 through to the new millennium. The book calls for new thinking on various aspects of Pakistan’s foreign policy, with particular emphasis on Pakistan-India relations vis-a-vis Kashmir, and suggests various policy options and their possible consequences for Pakistan. This new edition contains a chapter on the post- 9/11 developments in Pakistan’s foreign policy.
GOVERNANCE IN PAKISTAN: HYBRIDISM, POLITICAL INSTABILITY & VIOLENCE BY SAGHEER AHMAD KHAN — the book examines the inability of the governing elite to deal with hybridism and related political instability and violence, with reference to Pakistan, and the problems that this creates. The work explains that the governing elite, being the product of a hybrid structure and thus constrained by the authoritarian-democratic paradox, adopts bounded rationality instead of long-term planning of politico-ideological structuring of the society. Hence, socio-political life governed by temporary motivation, limited coercion, and temporary optimism, remains un-institutionalised which makes society vulnerable to violent mobilisation and ideologies.
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