Pakistan: Democracy, development and security issues

Edited by: Veena Kukreja and MP Singh Publication: Sage ISBN: 0-7619-3417-0 Price: Rs 360 Pages: 301

More than half a century after it came into existence, Pakistan remains a nation still in the making.

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This collection of essays takes a fresh look at the contentious themes of democracy, development and security in Pakistan today.

Arguing that the three are closely interlinked, the editors posit that the political and economic experience of the past 58 years shows that neither democracy nor capitalist development can survive without the other.

Using a variety of Pakistani, Indian and Western sources, the distinguished contributors examine the internal and external problems of Pakistan with an eye on the challenges that democracy has encountered in the country.

This book discusses several important issues, including:

• The obstacles to democracy in Pakistan, such as the October 1999 coup, fundamentalist Islamic ideology and the uncertainties of the country's economy.

• The politics of language in Pakistan and the ethnic problems that have arisen because of the status of Urdu as a symbol of Pakistani identity and national integration.

• Terrorism in Pakistan, which came to the fore following the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and Pakistan's active support of the Afghan resistance.

• The prospects of South Asian cooperation in a post-September 11 world.

• The future of Indo-Pak relations, including the long-term security threat that Pakistan poses to India, the ongoing peace process between India and Pakistan, and the implications of cross-border terrorism for the peace initiative.