Pardee Fellow Presents Two Papers on Pakistan
Pardee Center Research Fellow Moeed Yusuf made two paper presentations on South Asian politics and strategy at the recently concluded Midwest Political Science Association’s Annual Conference in Chicago.
The first paper titled Pakistan’s Failure at Democratic Consolidation is part of Yusuf’’s PhD dissertation and was presented as part of a panel on Democracy and Autocracy. He argues that lack of stable and sustained democracy in Pakistan is not an outcome of the predominance of the military or the external threat from India, both commonly propounded theses, but the result of Pakistan’s deep societal fissures that make it impossible for viable coalition politics to take root. He remained pessimistic about the state’s ability to transform into a stable democratic polity.
The second paper titled Signaling in Nuclear Crises: A Case Study of the Indo-Pak 2001-02 Stand Off was presented at the panel on Foreign Policy and Security. Yusuf challenges the utility of direct communications during crises and argues that the US insistence on setting up direct communication channels between the two South Asian powers is misplaced. He suggests that Indian and Pakistani propensity to stall all diplomatic contact during crises is intentional and enhances – not reduces – stability.