This book seeks to make sense of Pakistan’s history by examining
the interplay between colonial inheritances and contemporary strategic
and socio-economic environments. Equally important is the interplay
between the regional and national levels of politics. The state’s response
to pressures for increased political participation and devolution of power
has been of crucial importance, as has the perception by minorities
of the ‘Punjabisation’ of Pakistan. Finally the work draws attention
to the long-term problems of weak political institutionalisation and
viceregalism which are rooted in the colonial past.