2022 World Affairs Council of the Year
Network of Independent World Affairs Councils of America
The World Affairs Councils of America provides a monthly special program called “Cover to Cover” that features interactive phone conferencing with authors of global affairs related books. We thank them for their support and we are pleased to share this information with you here as a benefit of your affiliation with the Tennessee World Affairs Council.
The World Affairs Councils of America and the
Tennessee World Affairs Council Invite You to Participate in A Teleconference
“Pakistan Under Siege: Extremism, Society, and the State”
Madiha Afzal
Wednesday, April 18, 2018
1:00-1:30 p.m. CT.
April’s Cover to Cover
Over the last fifteen years, Pakistan has come to be defined exclusively in terms of its struggle with terror. But are ordinary Pakistanis extremists? And what explains how Pakistanis think?
Much of the current work on extremism in Pakistan tends to study extremist trends in the country from a detached position―a top-down security perspective, that renders a one-dimensional picture of what is at its heart a complex, richly textured country of 200 million people. In this book, using rigorous analysis of survey data, in-depth interviews in schools and universities in Pakistan, historical narrative reporting, and her own intuitive understanding of the country, Madiha Afzal gives the full picture of Pakistan’s relationship with extremism.
The author lays out Pakistanis’ own views on terrorist groups, on jihad, on religious minorities and non-Muslims, on America, and on their place in the world. The views are not radical at first glance, but are riddled with conspiracy theories. Afzal explains how the two pillars that define the Pakistani state―Islam and a paranoia about India―have led to a regressive form of Islamization in Pakistan’s narratives, laws, and curricula. These, in turn, have shaped its citizens’ attitudes.
Afzal traces this outlook to Pakistan’s unique and tortured birth. She examines the rhetoric and the strategic actions of three actors in Pakistani politics―the military, the civilian governments, and the Islamist parties―and their relationships with militant groups. She shows how regressive Pakistani laws instituted in the 1980s worsened citizen attitudes and led to vigilante and mob violence. The author also explains that the educational regime has become a vital element in shaping citizens’ thinking. How many years one attends school, whether the school is public, private, or a madrassa, and what curricula is followed all affect Pakistanis’ attitudes about terrorism and the rest of the world.
In the end, Afzal suggests how this beleaguered nation―one with seemingly insurmountable problems in governance and education―can change course.
Wednesday, April 18, at 1:00-1:30 PM Central Time.
Review
Madiha Afzal has pulled off the rare feat of writing a well-balanced and thoughtful account of extremism in Pakistan, describing its roots and also the extent of its influence, and offering some ideas about how Pakistan can move forward to a more tolerant future.―Peter Bergen, author of United States of Jihad: Investigating America’s Homegrown Terrorists
This is an important book, bringing to a foreign audience a nuanced understanding of Pakistan’s challenges: how Islamization has affected society in recent decades and how institutions have responded. It’s a tough and often disheartening story. Yet with diligent research and an open mind, Madiha Afzal leads us past stereotypes of violent extremists and cynical elites. She demonstrates that there is indeed a vital center in Pakistani society―and that this center can be the basis for the stability and prosperity that Pakistan could enjoy.― Cameron Munter, President, East-West Institute, and former U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan (2010–12)
About Madiha Afzal
Madiha Afzal is an Assistant Professor at the University of Maryland’s School of Public Policy, and a Non-Resident Fellow at the Brookings Institution. Her current work examines the links between education and radicalization in Pakistan; elections, voter behavior and legislator performance in Pakistan; and Pakistanis’ views of the United States. Dr. Afzal has published in Public Choice. She writes a regular column for The Express Tribune, the Pakistan partner of the International New York Times. She has also written for Foreign Policy. She was named to Lo Spazio della Politica’s list of Top 100 Global Thinkers of 2013. Dr. Afzal has consulted for international organizations including the World Bank and DFID. She is a Research Fellow at the Center for International and Security Studies at Maryland and the Center for Economic Research in Pakistan. In the spring of 2014, Dr. Afzal is also a Visiting Research Fellow with IFPRI’s Pakistan Strategy Support Program.
Dr. Afzal received her PhD in Economics from Yale University in 2008, specializing in Development Economics and Political Economy. Her dissertation examined voter rationality and legislator behavior in Pakistan and India. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Economics (with minors in Computer Science and Mathematics) from the Lahore University of Management Sciences in 2002, where she was ranked first in her graduating class. She grew up in Lahore, Pakistan, and Montreal, Canada.
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