Synopses & Reviews
To the north an extended civil war in Afghanistan fueled by arms from Russia and the US. To the west a fundamentalist Islamic region in Iran with links to international terrorism. To the northeast a secessionist guerilla war in Kashmir. To the east, India, with which Pakistan has fought two wars in forty years. In these volatile circumstances, Pakistans armed forces continue to play an important role both internally and externally.
Since their creation out of the communal violence of partition at the end of WWII, the armed forces of Pakistan have played a central role in the Pakistan state, periodically usurping the civil authority and ruling in its own right. The Armed Forces of Pakistan describes the nature of Pakistans defense capabilities and the forces which will shape them in the twenty-first century. It surveys the forces locked in conflict over the nuclear option and examines the three internal pressures Pakistan continues to face—militarization, secularization, and Islamic fundamentalism.
Review
"Timely and well conceived." -Ernesto Laclau, University of Essex,
Review
“The distinguished Pakistani scholar, . . . provides a work that invites comparison with the Turkish situation since before World War II.”
-The Journal of Military History,
Review
“The study sheds light on three domestic pressures facing Pakistan: militarization, secularization, and Islamic fundamentalism.”
-Middle East Journal,
Synopsis
At the cutting edge of political theory, this first volume in the Taking on the Political Series reflects the conceptual foundations of the series, opening up space to the political by engaging in and redefining polemics. In recognition of the collapse of the traditional belief in strong foundations for the political domain and the ungrounding of politics generally, the authors introduce and map the concept of afoundationalism while tackling such themes as social structure, ethical argumentation and political organization. Provocative and engaging, this book will change ways of thinking about and approaching political theory both in teaching and research.
About the Author
Pervaiz Iqbal Cheema was the Director General of the Academy of Educational Planning and management at the Pakistan Department of Education and is now based in the South Asia Institute at Heidelberg University.