ABSTRACT
This introduction chapter presents overview of key concepts covered in subsequent chapters of this book. The book examines what is the state of Pakistan's democratic transition, and analyses what factors are shaping its trajectory. It describes how Pakistan's internal and border security pre-occupations connected to democratic transition. The book further shows how are regional dynamics, including the role of the United States (US) in Pakistan, impacting democracy in Pakistan. It also shows how Pakistan's democratic transition influencing regional dynamics. Elections in Pakistan, even 'free and fair' elections, are no guarantee of democratic progress per se, but they are an important marker of democratic transition, and imply much about wider elements of democracy, including the nature of security and civil order, maturing political institutions, rebalanced or rebalancing civil-military relations, and the evolution of Pakistan's polity more broadly.
