THE MILITARY & POLITICS IN PAKISTAN 1947-1997

This book undertakes a comprehensive and documented study of the role of the military in Pakistan?s society and politics with a view to explaining why and how a professional military can acquire political disposition. The major themes have been studied with reference to three clusters of factors: the dynamics of the civil society and the working of the political institutions and processes, the military establishment and its organizational resources and professional and corporate interests; and the interaction across the functional boundaries between the military and the civil and its implications for the power balance in polity. The weaknesses of the civilian/political institutions and their inability to cope with diverse demands on the political system make it convenient for the senior commanders to expand their role and even assume power. However, military intervention is not necessarily and enduring remedy but it is a part of the overall problem of weak civilian institutions and political decay.