Pakistan's Military Legacies: Army, Nation, and State
Social Sciences
POLI190V: States in the Global South
My research paper looks at Miguel Angel Centeno’s principles in Latin America as outlined in the reading titled "Blood and Debt," which I will apply to Pakistan, which has also experienced the absence of the state in crucial areas.
I also blend in Centeno's principles with a focus on Charles Tilly's theory that "war makes state" (which is also advanced by Centeno) and argue that this is in fact not true: bellicist/war-centered development actually impeded the development of the state in Pakistan, instead of strengthening it in critical areas.
The research paper examines the militaristic and "unexpected" origins of Pakistan, the ethnic tensions (especially along the porous and undefined Pakistan-Afghan border), early dependency on the United States, the unifying factor (Islam), and the lack of institutional development especially regarding the writing of the Constitution and Parliament.
These factors will be examined in the context of Pakistan's early and sustained experiences with "total wars" in the years 1948, 1965 and 1971 (all with India).
