The struggle for Pakistan : a Muslim homeland and global politics

Established as a homeland for India’s Muslims in 1947, Pakistan has had a tumultuous history that has unfolded in the vortex of dire regional and international conflicts. Beset by assassinations, coups, ethnic strife, and the breakaway of Bangladesh in 1971, the country has found itself too often contending with religious extremism and military authoritarianism. Now, in a probing biography of her native land amid the throes of global change, Ayesha Jalal provides an insider’s assessment of how this nuclear-armed Muslim nation evolved as it did and explains why its dilemmas weigh so heavily on prospects for peace in the region. Attentive to Pakistan’s external relations as well as its internal dynamics, Jalal shows how the vexed relationship with the United States, border disputes with Afghanistan in the west, and the conflict with India over Kashmir in the east have played into the hands of the generals who purchased security at the cost of strong democratic institutions. Combined with domestic ethnic and regional rivalries, such pressures have created a siege mentality that encourages military domination and militant extremism. Since 9/11, the country has been widely portrayed as a breeding ground for Islamic terrorism. Assessing the threats posed by Al-Qaeda and the Taliban as American troops withdraw from Afghanistan, Jalal contends that the battle for Pakistan’s soul is far from over. Her definitive biography reveals how pluralism and democracy continue to struggle for a place in this Muslim homeland, where they are so essential to its future. Established as a homeland for India’s Muslims in 1947, Pakistan has had a tumultuous history. Beset by assassinations, coups, ethnic strife, and the breakaway of Bangladesh in 1971, the country has found itself too often contending with religious extremism and military authoritarianism. Now, in a probing biography of her native land amid the throes of global change, Ayesha Jalal provides an insider’s assessment of how this nuclear-armed Muslim nation evolved as it did and explains why its dilemmas weigh so heavily on prospects for peace in the region. “[An] important book...Ayesha Jalal has been one of the first and most reliable [Pakistani] political historians [on Pakistan]...The Struggle for Pakistan [is] her most accessible work to date...She is especially telling when she points to the lack of serious academic or political debate in Pakistan about the role of the military.” —Ahmed Rashid, New York Review of Books “[Jalal] shows that Pakistan never went off the rails; it was, moreover, never a democracy in any meaningful sense. For its entire history, a military caste and its supporters in the ruling class have formed an ‘establishment’ that defined their narrow interests as the nation’s.” —Isaac Chotiner, Wall Street Journal N A Probing Biography Of Her Native Land, Ayesha Jalal Provides A Unique Insider's Assessment Of How The Nuclear-armed Muslim Nation Of Pakistan Evolved Into A Country Besieged By Military Domination And Militant Religious Extremism, And Explains Why Its Dilemmas Weigh So Heavily On Prospects For Peace In The Region. Prologue: 'speak, For Your Lips Are Free' -- From Minority To Nation -- Truncated State, Divided Nation -- A Sprawling Military Barrack -- Pitfalls Of Martial Rule -- Toward The Watershed Of 1971 -- The Rise And Fall Of Populism -- Martial Rule In An Islamic Garb -- Democracy Restored? -- A Geostrategic Riddle -- Entangled Endgames -- Epilogue: Overcoming Terror. Ayesha Jalal. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Contents Preface Abbreviations Prologue ONE. From Minority to Nation TWO. Truncated State, Divided Nation THREE. Sprawling Military Barrack FOUR. Pitfalls Of Martial Rule FIVE. Toward the Watershed of 1971 SIX. The Rise and Fall of Populism SEVEN. Martial Rule in Islamic Garb EIGHT. Democracy Restored? NINE. A Geostrategic Riddle TEN. Entangled Endgames Epilogue. Overcoming Terror NOTES. GLOSSARY. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. INDEX Notes Glossary Acknowledgments Index In a probing biography of her native land, Ayesha Jalal provides a unique insider’s assessment of how the nuclear-armed Muslim nation of Pakistan evolved into a country besieged by military domination and militant religious extremism, and explains why its dilemmas weigh so heavily on prospects for peace in the region.