Product Description

In recent years Pakistan has emerged as a strategic player on the world stage—both as a potential rogue state armed with nuclear weapons and as an American ally in the war against terrorism. But our understanding of this country is superficial.

To probe beyond the headlines, Stephen Cohen, author of the prize-winning India: Emerging Power, offers a panoramic portrait of this complex country—from its origins as a homeland for Indian Muslims to a military-dominated state that has experienced uneven economic growth, political chaos, sectarian violence, and several nuclear crises with its much larger neighbor, India.

Pakistan’s future is uncertain. Can it fulfill its promise of joining the community of nations as a moderate Islamic state, at peace with its neighbors, or could it dissolve completely into a failed state, spewing out terrorists and nuclear weapons in several directions? The Idea of Pakistan will be an essential tool for understanding this critically important country.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #45803 in Books
• Published on: 2006-08-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 382 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780815715030
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Review
"Finally, there is a single book that provides a solid, comprehensive introduction to Pakistan. Informative and insightful. . ." -- Marvin G. Weinbaum, Professor Emeritus, University of Illinois, and former Pakistan analyst at the U.S. Department of State

"THE IDEA OF PAKISTAN is an intellectual tour de force, a gripping and informative tale. . ." -- Dennis Kux, Senior Policy Scholar, Woodrow Wilson Center for Scholars

"This is a thorough, balanced, intelligent assessment of Pakistan's crucially important struggle to find stability and successful modern identity." -- Steve Coll, author of Ghost Wars

"[M]uch of this book is a rock-solid, dependable history of Pakistan." -- Owen Bennett Jones, Washington Post Book World, February 6, 2005

About the Author
Stephen Philip Cohen is a senior fellow in the Foreign Policy Studies program at the Brookings Institution. He is the author of classic books on India’s and Pakistan’s armies and the widely praised India: Emerging Power (Brookings, 2001). He was a member of the Policy Planning Staff of the U.S. Department of State and before joining Brookings was a faculty member at the University of Illinois.

Customer Reviews

A Project Report on Pakistan
Cohen has the necessary qualifications and the background for this important work. His subject is critically important for the region, as also for several parts of the world. He treats the subject with neutrality and scholarly erudition, which is sometimes missing from Western works in these turbulent days.

His central theme is contained in the title of the book: The Idea of Pakistan. He describes how the idea originated, how it developed and crystallised, and the challenges that Pakistan faces today. He ends the book with a presentation on the various possible scenarios / paths that Pakistan could take.

His approach is analytical and comprehensive. The book is well-referenced and is easy to read. His writing style is neither pedantic nor casual. By the time you end the book, you will probably know a lot about Pakistan, all delivered through a systematic framework.

However, it is also difficult to retain for long what you have read in this book. This may be due to the fact that the book reads like a project report commssioned by a Corporation or a Government. Cohen does not offer you any insights, as this would perhaps be considered a professorial misdemeanor for a work such as this! Another significant issue is that he treats Pakistan as a totally modern state, and analyses it from that perspective. As a result, he ignores the cultural, economic and political legacy of Islam and Moghuls which Pakistan inherited. This gives his book a very contemporary, current-affairish feel.

In my view, his analysis of Pakistan also suffers due to this omission. The past continues to affect the present and the future. Therefore, any cultue or nation that has such an ancient past can not be undertood effectively, unless that past is also considered.

Overall, a good book.

Worth much more than every penny spent
"The Idea of Pakistan" is a brilliant work of an accomplished analyst who is intimately knowledgeable of Pakistani culture, society and politics. The book is essentially a detailed thesis in strategic country analysis, written by a highly interested and talented scholar. It well covers the `driving factors' behind Pakistan's past, present and future.

Mr. Cohen's analysis of Pakistan Army, politicians, Islamists and nationalists is extremely convincing. At times he does go overboard with his fear of Islam in Pakistan and chance of country's nuclear weapons ending up in the wrong hands. Readers should discount these thoughts without becoming skeptical of the entire work; after all, Mr. Cohen is an American!

What impressed me the most, however, was his way of highlighting the `youth explosion' of the untrained and unemployed, that is to overtake Pakistan by 2015 the latest. I yet have to see a single Pakistani analyst put his/her finger on this decisive factor. Or perhaps I simply do not read enough.

I am afraid this brilliant work will encounter more criticism than accolades, especially from within Pakistan. As Mr. Cohen points out, Pakistani education system coupled with the state sponsored propaganda makes recipients suspicious of all foreigners (especially those with Jewish last names). Nevertheless, a relatively unbiased reader should see the shining merits of this work.

For this single effort, Pakistani `Establishment' should award Mr. Cohen with the highest civil honor available to foreigners. Unfortunately, the act will require the same `vision' that Mr. Cohen correctly finds missing among this group. Regardless, he has my best wishes and many thanks. May Allah reward him!

Excellent independent analysis of Pakistan
An excellent account of history, politics, and personalities todo with Pakistan, this book provides indepth analysis of the state of Pakistan as we have it now.

Being a Pakistani professional working overseas and a byproduct of the same society which Mr Cohen concentrates in this book, I read this book thoroughly, keenly and critically. Relating every thing with my life experience in the environment where I grew up, I can sense the depth of knowledge of the author who tells us about the political history of Pakistan.

Somewhat I disagree with the author about the exagerated threat of Islamic fundamentalism in the initial few chapters however in his last few chapters he admits this and put forward some sensible policy guidelines and suggestions for the US foreign policy. Considering the recent developments I can already see the US policy makers taking a serious note of the findings, and taking a few steps towards the right direction e.g. offering F-16 to both India and Pakistan, facilitating Kashmir dialoue, providing aid to restructure Pakistani educational system, and expressing desire to see Pakistan a democratic country.

The problems which are described in this book have been pointed out and discussed in Pakistani press before, however in the absence of real democracy and people power they can't make a difference.

This is a must read book if you are a Pakistani or Indian and love to see your countries as progressive and modern countries.

My congratulations to Mr Cohen on this excellent effort.