This book brings a multi-disciplinary approach to studying Pakistans contemporary political, social and environmental challenges. It offers insights from various disciplines to show the interconnectedness of many of Pakistans problems and their historical roots.
This book brings a multi-disciplinary approach to studying Pakistans contemporary political, social and environmental challenges. It offers insights from various disciplines to show the interconnectedness of many of Pakistans problems and their historical roots.
The analysis includes issues of political alienation and exclusion, vulnerability to climate change-induced disasters and how such challenges might be mitigated. The case studies in the book reveal that reality is complex and that demographic, social, and technological change is moving apace in Pakistan. This dynamism points to another aspect of Pakistan and its resilience in the face of manmade and natural disasters. An increasingly youthful and urbanised population is challenging social inequalities and power structures whilst the state attempts to respond in old ways to maintain order and stability. The emergence of overseas Pakistani communities and their connectedness with the homeland is another growing development with ramifications for politics and society.
A significant contribution on critical affairs in Pakistan, this book investigates if the country is moving towards a critical crossroads in its development. It will be of interest to historians and political scientists of Modern South Asia, as well as geographers interested in examining impact of climate change.
Introduction
Part One: The Political Landscape: Continuity and Change
Chapter 1 The Military at a Political Crossroad? Pakistan 2018-present
Chapter 2 Hybrid Regime Management in Pakistan 19472022
Chapter 3 Mapping Federalism in Pakistan
Chapter 4 Governance and Resistance in Pakistans Peripheries: The Cases of
Pakistan-Administered Kashmir, Balochistan, and Gilgit-Baltistan
Chapter 5 Politics of Extremism and the Emergence of the Tehreek-e-Labbaik
Pakistan
Chapter 6 Geopolitics, Security, and Imbalance in Pakistans Foreign Policy:
A historical perspective
Chapter 7 Political Economy of Crisis
Part Two: The Changing Social Landscape
Chapter 8 Navigating through the Black Hole of Crises in the post-truth Era:
A Curious Case of Pakistan's middle-class Youth
Chapter 9 Media and Election in Pakistan
Chapter 10 New Social Movements in Pakistan: Dynamics and Politics of Aurat
March
Chapter 11 Homo-Islamicus: piety, populism, and post-feminism in Pakistan
Chapter12 Pakistan and its diaspora(s): An exploration of Economic and
Political Mobilization for the homeland
Chapter 13 Finding Contemporary Pakistan on Screen: The Case of The Legend of
Maula Jatt and Joyland
Chapter 14 Sport in Pakistan: Highs and Lows Amidst Structural Decline
Part Three: Environmental Challenges and Responses
Chapter 15 Pakistan's Water Resources: Availability Concerns, Disputes and
Sub-Nationalism
Chapter 16 Forests, Climate Change and Politics in Pakistan: The PTI Tree
Tsunami in North-West Pakistan
Chapter 17 Pakistan in the face of Climate Change: Current state of Risks,
Resilience and Sustainability
Amit Ranjan is a Research Fellow at the Institute of South Asian Studies, National University of Singapore. His latest book is The Aftermath of the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971: Enduring Impacts (edited with Taj Hashmi and Mazhar Abbas, Routledge, 2025). He has also edited Migration, Memories and Unfinished Partition (TISS-Routledge series on Migration Studies, 2024) and is the author of Federalism and Inter-State River Water Disputes in India (Routledge, London and New Delhi, 2023), and Contested Waters: Indias Transboundary River Water Disputes in South Asia (Routledge, Oxon and New Delhi, 2021).
Ian Talbot is Professor Emeritus in the History of Modern South Asia at the University of Southampton. He holds a BA at Royal Holloway College, an MA from Oxford University and a PhD at Royal Holloway College. He is a Fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society and a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and was formerly Head of History at the University of Southampton.
