India & Its NeighboursBook note
Pakistan: Courting the Abyss
Description. A short description of a book from my bookshelf, not a review.
Devasher, a former senior Indian intelligence officer, examines the structural problems facing Pakistan: a contested national identity, the dominance of the army, the spread of radical Islam, economic weakness, water scarcity and rapid population growth. He argues that these pressures combine to push the country toward deeper crisis.
The book is well researched and accessible, drawing heavily on Pakistani sources. It is a useful guide to the internal dynamics of India's western neighbour, and his later The Pashtuns is reviewed on this site.
From the bookshelf · read 2019–2020