Publication Year: 2013

The Pakistan Military in Politics: Origins, Evolution, Consequences

Summary
The Pakistan Military in Politics: Origins, Evolution, Consequences What is the contribution of internal Pakistani situations and external factors in the rise of The military as the most powerful institution in Pakistan? What have been the consequences of this for Pakistan? This timely book sheds much-needed light on the phenomenal rise of the Pakistani military in politics. Explores how the failure of Pakistani politicians to institutionalise democracy as well as the perceived threat posed by India to its survival offers clues to this. Details how the Pakistan military acquired veto powers over Pakistani politics, by explaining how during the Cold War the US became Pakistan’s main arms donor; and later, the regional balance-of-power concerns of China to contain India resulted in Chinese military help being extended to it; and ideological rivalry for leadership over the Muslim world between Saudi Arabia and Iran enabled it to receive Saudi patronage. Analyses how a fortress of Islam mind-set manifest in militant Islamic movements prevails currently in Pakistan, which is a product of a combination of external and internal factors and how this mind-set is a result of perceived threat posed by India and Afghanistan which has made defence and security paramount concerns of Pakistan Analyses how these processes have resulted in the proliferation of terrorism within Pakistan, and externally…