The Future of Pakistan
With each passing day, Pakistan
becomes an even more crucial player in world affairs. Home of the world's
second-largest Muslim population, epicenter of the global jihad, location of
perhaps the planet's most dangerous borderlands, and armed with nuclear
weapons, this South Asian nation will go a long way toward determining what the
world looks like ten years from now. The Future of Pakistan presents
and evaluates several scenarios for how the country will develop, evolve, and
act in the near future, as well as the geopolitical implications of each.
Led by renowned South Asia expert Stephen P. Cohen, a
team of authoritative contributors looks at several pieces of the Pakistan
puzzle. The book begins with Cohen's broad yet detailed overview of Pakistan,
placing it within the context of current-day geopolitics and international
economics. Cohen's piece is then followed by a number of shorter, more tightly
focused essays addressing more specific issues of concern.
Cohen's fellow contributors hail from America,
Europe, India,
and Pakistan
itself, giving the book a uniquely international and comparative perspective.
They address critical factors such as the role and impact of radical groups and
militants, developments in specific key regions such as Punjab and the rugged
frontier with Afghanistan, and the influence of—and interactions with—India,
Pakistan's archrival since birth. The book also breaks down relations with
other international powers such as China
and the United States.
The all-important military and internal security apparatus come under scrutiny,
as do rapidly morphing social and gender issues. Political and party
developments are examined along with the often amorphous division of power
between Islamabad and the nation's
regions and local powers.
Uncertainty about Pakistan's
trajectory persists. The Future of Pakistan helps us understand the
current circumstances, the relevant actors and their motivation, the critical
issues at hand, the different outcomes they might produce, and what it all
means for Pakistanis, Indians, the United States, and the entire world.
Stephen P. Cohen is a senior fellow in Foreign Policy
Studies at the Brookings Institution. Long considered one of America’s
foremost experts on South Asia, he is the author of
several influential books on the region.
Cover Price Rs 1595
