Taking an explicitly comparative theoretical approach, Saeed Shafqat presents a comprehensive exploration of civil-military relations in Pakistan. He begins by describing the history of military hegemony in this volatile South Asian country and then examines the breakdown of military control, assessing the rise of the Pakistan People's Party and th

Taking an explicitly comparative theoretical approach, Saeed Shafqal presents a comprehensive exploration of civil-military relations in Pakistan. He begins by describing the history of military hegemony in this volatile South Asian country and then examines the breakdown of military control, assessing the rise of the Pakistan People's Party and the changing configuration of party-military relations.

This book offers a comprehensive study of the dynamics of civil-military relations in Pakistan. It asks how and why the Pakistan military has acquired such a salience in the polity and how it continues to influence decision-making on foreign and security policies and key domestic political, social and economic issues. It also examines the changes within the military, the impact of these changes on its disposition towards the state and society, and the implications for peace and security in nuclearized South Asia.

In sharp contrast to neighboring India, the Muslim nation of Pakistan has been ruled by its military for over three decades. The Army and Democracy identifies steps for reforming Pakistan’s armed forces and reducing its interference in politics, and sees lessons for fragile democracies striving to bring the military under civilian control.

The Changing Dynamics of Civil Military Relations in Pakistan offers a unique insiders’ perspective on the political climate in the country, presenting the challenges established in boundaries of interaction between the state and its military. This book argues that the prospects of another military coup in Pakistan are minimal because of the military extending its presence in the civil arenas and thus discovering new avenues of concretising its hegemony. Based on primary data sources in the form of interviews with senior military personnel, civil bureaucrats and other relevant technocrats and using military and government publications to verify their claims, the author discusses the military’s previous takeovers and future plans from a defense point of view. The book uncovers how the military has created a space and rationale for itself in non-defense sectors. Providing a first-hand account of why and how the military extends itself beyond proscribed fields of responsibility and their expected outcomes, the book also provides a theoretical context to the military’s hegemonic status using literature on civil military relations in general and Pakistan in particular. The book uses Pakistan as a case study to show how civil military imbalances in the world over can be re-evaluated. It will be of interest to researchers studying political science, public policy, peace and security studies, governance and institutions, law and South Asian Studies.