Political Conflict in Pakistan

Mohammad Waseem's book offers a major reinterpretation of Pakistani politics, focusing on conflict among groups, communities, classes, ideologies, and institutions. It examines the millennium-long conflict between Hindus and Muslims, the Hindu, Muslim, and Sikh renaissances, and the clash of communities in the twentieth century. Waseem highlights multiple clashes, including between high culture and low culture, the colonial state, corruption, the political class and the middle class, and civil and military power. He also explores the ruling elite's centralization of power, the militarization and judicialization of politics, the difficulties of establishing an anti-terrorist regime, and the state's pragmatic attempts at conflict resolution.

Format: Hardback
Length: 576 pages
Publication date: 11 January 2022
Publisher: C Hurst & Co Publishers Ltd

This book offers a significant reinterpretation of Pakistani politics, delving into the intricate dynamics of conflict among various groups, communities, classes, ideologies, and institutions. Mohammad Waseem's analysis explores the millennium-long conflict between Hindus and Muslims as separate nations with intertwined faiths, as well as the Hindu, Muslim, and Sikh renaissances that resulted in a twentieth-century clash of communities and ultimately led to partition. Political Conflict in Pakistan delves into multiple clashes, including the tension between high culture as a mission to transform society and low culture rooted in the land and its people, the struggle between those committed to upholding the institutional constitutional framework of the state and those seeking to dismantle the colonial state, the conflict between those seeking to hold corrupt officials accountable and those engaged in corrupt practices, the divide between the political class and the middle class, and the interplay between civil and military power. Waseem exposes how the ruling elite centralized power through the militarization and judicialization of politics, rendering the federalist arrangement hollow and alienating the provinces. He contextualizes these dynamics within the broader contexts of education and media as sources of conflict, the challenges of establishing an effective anti-terrorist regime, and the state's pragmatic efforts to resolve conflicts under pressure from minorities. This book provides a comprehensive account of a country characterized by contestations and struggles.

Weight: 870g
Dimension: 194 x 397 x 55 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781787384002