Pakistan

While Pakistan's relationship with the United States and its ongoing war in Afghanistan are of indubitably key importance, they are by no means sufficient for understanding the complexity of Pakistan's foreign policies. Furthermore, failure to understand the wider context of Pakistani foreign relations has led to an inability of many in the US to understand Pakistani behavior beyond simple denunciations of Pakistani "recalcitrance." This book aims to provide a more balanced perspective by inviting contributors of varying perspectives to comment on a range of issues that shed light on Pakistan's orientation towards the world and how complications from other relationships influence its longstanding relationship with the United States. In other words, the US-Pakistani relationship remains at the heart of the book, but contributors address key contextual issues that are sometimes overlooked in evaluating that relationship. Eleven chapters discuss: the role of the Islamic orientation of the state and the populace on the conduct of the "war on terror," differing threat perceptions between the US and Pakistani governments, the influence of domestic politics, Pakistani security considerations in the "war on terror," Pakistan-China strategic relations and their relevance for Pakistani energy security, Pakistani relations with Saudi Arabia and Iran, and nuclear security concerns. The lack of a chapter dealing specifically with the conflict-ridden relationship with India is a bit surprising and disappointing, as that relationship plays an undeniably key role in Pakistani security and regional concerns. Distributed in the US by Palgrave Macmillan. Annotation c2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)