Product Description
The killing of Osama bin Laden spotlighted Pakistan’s unpredictable political dynamics, which are often driven by conspiracy theory, paranoia, and a sense of betrayal. In Pakistan, the late prime minister Benazir Bhutto famously declared, there is “always the story behind the story.” In The Pakistan Cauldron, James P. Farwell explains what makes Pakistani politics tick. Farwell has advised the Department of Defense on terrorism, sovereignty, and the political issues in the Middle East, Africa, and Pakistan. Here he reveals how key Pakistani political players have inconsistently employed the principles of strategic communication to advance their agendas and undercut their enemies.
Pakistan is an enigma to many. Only by understanding the complex forces that shape Pakistani leaders can we uncover their shifting political agendas and how they affect America and the West. Farwell explains how and why former president Pervez Musharraf clamped down on nuclear scientist A. Q. Kahn and isolated him. He assesses Benazir Bhutto’s unique legacy and analyzes how Musharraf handled the aftermath of her assassination. He explains Pakistan’s current instability and demonstrates how the country’s emotional reaction to bin Laden’s death is best understood as the outcome of long-standing political dynamics. The Pakistan Cauldron is for anyone who needs to know why Pakistan continues to pose increasingly difficult challenges for the United States and the West.
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #166449 in Books
- Published on: 2011-10
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Binding: Hardcover
- 360 pages
Editorial Reviews
Review
"James Farwell has produced a highly readable and balanced account of contemporary Pakistan's tortuous journey toward its current troubled status. I would recommend this book as a guide for any policymaker or commentator seeking a rapid understanding of Pakistan...."
-- Sir Richard Dearlove, former head of MI6
"An engrossing account of Pakistan's fractured history that exposes the faults and foibles of its leaders as they attempted to cling to or gain power...."
-- Shuja Nawaz, director of the Atlantic Council's South Asia Center and author of Crossed Swords: Pakistan, Its Army, and the Wars Within
"A must-read. Few understand how strategic communication works in Pakistan better than James Farwell."
-- Lt. Gen. Dell L. Dailey, USA (Ret.), former director, Center for Special Operations, U.S. Special Operations Command; former ambassador-at-large and coordinator for counterterrorism, State Department
"This is a powerful story of tragedy, avarice, power, corruption, deceit, incompetence, treachery, sabotage, and insurgency..."
-- Maj. Gen. David J. Scott, USAF (Ret.), former deputy director, Center for Special Operations, U.S. Special Operations Command
"James Farwell has undertaken original research and considered evidence from a novel perspective to develop insights and explain issues in a refreshingly interesting way..."
-- Colonel Stephen Padgett OBE, Commander British Forces Afghanistan and British Defence Attaché in Kabul 2005-2006
About the Author
James P. Farwell is an expert in strategic communication who has advised the Department of Defense, U.S. Special Operations Command, and the U.S. Strategic Command on the Middle East, Africa, and Pakistan. He has written commentaries for the International Institute for Strategic Studies, the Middle East Institute, the National Interest, IO Journal, and Defence IQ. A graduate of Tulane and the University of Cambridge, England, he is also an attorney and a political consultant who has worked nationally and internationally at the presidential level. He is a senior research scholar in strategic studies at the Munk School, Center for Global Security, University of Toronto.
Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful.
A First-Rate Analysis
By Douglas Waller
Jim Farwell has cut through the fog and put together a thoughtful and cogent analysis of Pakistan's complex politics. If you want to gain a greater understanding of the turmoil in this country, check out this book.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful.
Indispensable new book on Pakistan
By Amy R. Zalman
James' Farwell's equal ease in the worlds of international affairs and strategic communications is on full display in The Pakistan Cauldron--much to the benefit of its readers. His take on the political dynamics of recent Pakistani history, as seen through the communication strategist's lens, shows vividly the powerful role played by perception and persuasion in all political arenas--not only in the U.S. where spin is king, but also elsewhere. Woe be to the U.S. policy maker, or the rest of us affected by their decisions, who fails to understand the communication calculations at work in Pakistan. Farwell's analysis includes a survey of the reactions to bin Laden's killing, laying the basis for his smart caution that the U.S. must do a better job of understanding and engaging this important, complex country.
As an extra bonus, Farwell's attention to the intended and unintended messaging of Pakistan's political elite makes for engaging, entertaining reading. Who else has so carefully noted Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto's fashion savvy: "He [was] equally at ease attired in expensive suits strutting about foreign capitals and in the awami (people's) shirt and Jinnah cap haranguing people ...."? Or has thought to capture Benazir Bhutto's passionate approach to life through her love of Baskin Robbins ice cream?
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful.
A good read for the expert and novice alike
By reader in NYC
This book is well-researched, well-organized and written in a style which is quite readable. I am not a foreign policy expert and I was concerned that the book would be too geared for the defense/foreign policy community when I bought it. I was pleasantly surprised to find a book that is clearly quite valuable for those in the business of weighing the United States policy options in the region including Pakistan, but at the same time the book is a good primer for a non-expert like me wanting to understand the foreign policy cunumdrums we face as a nation in Pakistan. I think the best part of the book is the portrait Farwell paints of the various figures (A.Q.Kahn, Benazir Bhutto,etc) which really brings the facts and circumstances of the region alive for the reader. I feel I got what I set out to achieve by reading this book. I understand the news from the region much better and have a sense of the policy nuances the country faces with Pakistan and Afghanistan.
See all 10 customer reviews...
Apologia for Pakistan
