13 June 2014
Changes in Pakistan will be limited until its leaders move beyond historical concepts of strategic parity and depth, and are willing to lessen their reliance on the idea of power politics that has characterized Pakistan’s thinking for the last 66 years, according to Prof. T V Paul of McGill University.
Initiating a discussion at Observer Research Foundation on his new book, , "The Warrior State: Pakistan in the Contemporary World", on June 11, Prof. Paul said Pakistan’s elite must transform the way they conceptualise security from strength based military power to strength on economic growth, and allow for globalisation and liberalisation to create a strong nation state.
Prof. Paul argued that the "geostrategic curse" akin to the "resource curse" that plagues oil rich autocracies is at the root of Pakistan’s unique inability to progress. Pakistan has been a major centre of geopolitical struggles as evident during the Cold War in the US-Soviet rivalry, conflict with India and most recently post-9/11. The reliability of such aid defuses any pressure on political elites to launch the far-reaching domestic reforms necessary to promote sustained growth, higher standards of living, and more stable democratic institutions. 
Prof Paul pointed out that Pakistan has not turned their crisis situations into a scenario that is conducive for development of a nation state. Military is the bases of that nation. Prof Paul shows that excessive war-making efforts have drained Pakistan’s limited economic resources without making the country safer or more stable. Indeed, despite the regime’s emphasis on security, the country continues to be beset by widespread violence and terrorism.
In the book, Prof Paul explains Pakistan’s insecure conditions developed over the past decades based on historical sociology, international relations and comparative politics. He also points out that peace within Pakistan and with India and Afghanistan is significant from the global security perspective.
Pakistan, as a "failing state", toddles on the European idea that it is on the edge of economic collapse due to consistent war and is beset by massive internal security threats. The Warrior State identifies the impediments to Pakistan’s development and stabilisation. It also examines the historical causes of those impediments as well as the short-term and long term consequences for Pakistan. He went on to add that Pakistan is the least globalised country and needs to put much more efforts on economic levels. 
Here Prof Paul also presents two interconnected questions which are not adequately answered by the social scientist. First, why Pakistan remains a weak state and secondly, why the policies pursued by the elites have brought no long term national security, prosperity or national integration. Pakistan should be doing better. Its strategic geographic position has generated huge volumes of aid from the US, China and other donors. It has a well developed military and even a nuclear power. Prof Paul identifies that no matter how ineffective the regime is, there is massive foreign aid which keeps pouring in from major powers, their allies and various global financial institutions The discussion was chaired by Mr. HHS Viswanathan, Distinguished Fellow, ORF and a former Ambassador. The discussants included Mr Rana Banerji, former Special Secretary, Cabinet Secretariat and Mr. Rakesh Sood, former Indian Ambassador to Afghanistan. 
Mr. Banerji stepped into the discussion, showing the dynamic interaction between the elite and the feudal placed in the politics and the lower middle class working in the military are willing to create a democratic nation state. He also raised concern about the religious elites who do not focus on religion but on a jihad culture. He concluded by saying that there is a cross fertilization of new ideas but they are not ready to overcome the sharia. 
Mr. Rakesh Sood gave an insight about the practical policy making in Pakistan. He also mentioned that these theoretical concepts and constructs cannot actually explain the present situation of Pakistan. He raised the issue of no long term policy coming up by the government; there is also a lack educated middle class, civil society. He also pointed out that military is a self perpetuating economic part of Pakistan government. Mentioning the history of Pakistan, he put forth that this is one area which is not covered adequately in the book, which is a subject of myth making.
(This report is prepared by Bhavya Pandey, Research Intern, Observer Research Foundation, Delhi)
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