Governance in Pakistan is a delicate balancing act between the military chiefs and the elected civilian government. It is a power-sharing arrangement whereby the military has important influence over foreign, security and key domestic issues, and mediates confrontations among feuding political leaders, parties or state institutions- if such confrontations are deemed threatening to political order…
Since its independence from the United Kingdom and partition from India in August 1947, Pakistan’s historical trajectory has been marked by five major themes. First, political and institutional instability have led to periodic oscillation between civilian and military rule and thus prevented Pakistan from achieving a stable and legitimate political order. Second, amid the alternation…
Circumstances in Afghanistan have drastically evolved and continue to do so since the Taliban came into power in August 2021.While initially there was ambiguity as to what the Taliban’s assumption of power would mean for Afghanistan in terms of domestic governance, political freedoms, human and women’s rights, counter-terrorism assurances, and an overall commitment to regional…
The Russo-Turkish war of 1768-74 was one of the most consequential conflicts for the global balance of power in the 18th century. After the war, Russia, under Empress Catherine the Great, got access to the Black Sea through the Kerch and Azov seaports and officially became the “protector” of the Orthodox Christians of the Ottoman…
The 2021 National Security Policy has made geo-economics its main pivot. It is therefore essential to look in a coherent and comprehensive manner how Pakistan’s economic relations with other nations should evolve to meet this objective. In designing foreign economic policy we should always keep in mind that such a policy would be a by-product…
At a crucial National Security Council meeting in July 1965, during which President Lyndon Johnson and his advisers were deliberating whether the United States should intervene militarily in South Vietnam with 100,000 troops, US Ambassador to South Vietnam Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr delivered the coup de grâce to those vacillating about the intervention: ‘I feel there is…
October 13 is celebrated as the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction by the United Nations, countries all across the globe are urged to focus on the prevention and minimisation of the risks posed by natural disasters. Disasters have a monumental impact on the economies, lives and basic infrastructure of those affected. In 2022, the…
September 2022 marked the seventh anniversary of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which were adopted in September 2015. As a member of the United Nations (UN), Pakistan is strongly committed to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and adopted the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as its national development agenda in 2016. The principle thrust of…
Understanding the International System International Relations is becoming increasingly relevant as the world grows more and more interconnected through trade and commerce, migration, the internet and social media, as well as through concerns about pressing global environmental problems. As a field of study, International Relations addresses international political economy, global governance, intercultural relations, national and…
This book is in the suggested readings of the CSS 2023 syllabus for Current Affairs paper. Click here to download the book in PDF format. In the book titled “Introduction to International Political Economy” (IPE), the authors – David Balaam and Bradford Dillman – analyze a number of complex issues of international and global economies…
