Abstract
This collection of papers edited by Salma Malik, Assistant Professor, Department of Defence and Strategic Studies at the Quaid-e-Azam University in Pakistan looks at security challenges faced by the country with a traditional state-centric focus. Each of the ten chapters discusses inter-related themes such as state identity, civil-military relations, strategic culture and socio-economic development. The book aims at identifying the co-relation between state security and state identity, a subject that has long been ignored in academic research. This effort distinguishes it from earlier works on Pakistan’s national security. The first chapter by Dr Syed Rifaat Hussain on Pakistan’s Quest for Security: An Historical Analysis traces Pakistan’s perennial insecurity. He gives a detailed historical account of Pakistan’s threat perceptions, its policy of external balancing by joining Western alliances and subsequently developing a strategic partnership with China. Apart from traditional security threats, he identifies new security dilemmas for Pakistan in the form of religious Islamic militancy that has caused the state, human as well as material losses.
Keyword(s)
Salma Malik (ed.), Pakistan’s Security, Problems, Challenges, Next Decade