Pakistan: A Hard Country by Anatol Lieven

Description

In-the-past-decade-Pakistan-has-become-a-country-of-immense-importance-to-its-region,-the-United-States,-and-the-world.-With-almost-200-million-people,-a-500,000-man-army,-nuclear-weapons,-and-a-large-diaspora-in-Britain-and-North-America,-Pakistan-is-central-to-the-hopes-of-jihadis-and-the-fears-of-their-enemies.-Yet-the-greatest-short-term-threat-to-Pakistan-is-not-Islamist-insurgency-as-such,-but-the-actions-of-the-United-States,-and-the-greatest-long-term-threat-is-ecological-change.-Anatol-Lieven’s-book-is-a-magisterial-investigation-of-this-highly-complex-and-often-poorly-understood-country:-its-regions,-ethnicities,-competing-religious-traditions,-varied-social-landscapes,-deep-political-tensions,-and-historical-patterns-of-violence;-but-also-its-surprising-underlying-stability,-rooted-in-kinship,-patronage,-and-the-power-of-entrenched-local-elites.-Engagingly-written,-combining-history-and-profound-analysis-with-reportage-from-Lieven’s-extensive-travels-as-a-journalist-and-academic,-Pakistan:-A-Hard-Country-is-both-utterly-compelling-and-deeply-revealing.