Pakistan A Modern History

by Talbot, Ian

• ISBN13: 9780230623040
• ISBN10: 0230623042
• Edition: Revised
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-01-15
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

Summary

This book fills the need for a broad, historically sophisticated understanding of Pakistan, a country at fifty which is understood by many in the West only in terms of stereotypes--the fanatical, authoritarian and reactionary "other" which is unfavorably compared to a tolerant, democratic and progressive India. There is a need at the time of Pakistan's golden jubilee for it to be taken seriously in its own right as a country of 130 million people. It is in reality a complex plural society which although greatly shaped by the colonial inheritance and circumstances of its birth is also experiencing rapid change. The author's approach breaks down stereotypes and assists in answering the vexed question of why democracy has succeeded in India, while Pakistan has been subject to long periods of authoritarianism during its five decades of existence.

Author Biography

Ian Talbot is Senior Lecturer in History at Coventry University.

Table of Contents

Pakistan: Land, Society and Economy * Colonial Rule, Authoritarianism and Regional History in North-West India * The Pakistan Movement: Its Dynamics and Legacies * Picking Up the Pieces: Pakistan 1947-9 * The Destruction of Democracy in Pakistan * Solon Amongst the Subalterns * Things Fall Apart * People's Power: Hopes and Impediments * Islam Changes Everything? * Democracy Restored? Pakistan Politics 1988-93 * Democracy in Crisis: Pakistan Politics 1993-7 * Conclusion * Appendices * Abbreviations * Select Bibliography * Glossary * Index