ABSTRACT
Pakistan is often depicted as a state in perpetual crisis, with elected national leaders unable to complete their terms in office, excessive and unsustainable reliance on foreign debt, military interventions in government processes, and insurgencies and non-state actors threatening to undermine the entire polity. These impressions are fueled by dramatic and sensationalistic media coverage. Critically examining and assessing these depictions, and building a fuller understanding, require a closer look. The legacy of British colonialism, the evolving roles of Islamic claims in political life, the political economy of development, the repeated and long-lasting military interventions, the geo-political context, and territorial disputes, as well as the strategic imperatives of seeking political survival through coalitions in an ethnically fragmented society, are some of the factors covered here.
