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Pakistan: A Hard Country Hardcover – April 12, 2011

4.5 out of 5 stars 286

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In the past decade Pakistan has become a country of immense importance to its region, the United States, and the world. With almost 200 million people, a 500,000-man army, nuclear weapons, and a large diaspora in Britain and North America, Pakistan is central to the hopes of jihadis and the fears of their enemies. Yet the greatest short-term threat to Pakistan is not Islamist insurgency as such, but the actions of the United States, and the greatest long-term threat is ecological change.

Anatol Lieven's book is a magisterial investigation of this highly complex and often poorly understood country: its regions, ethnicities, competing religious traditions, varied social landscapes, deep political tensions, and historical patterns of violence; but also its surprising underlying stability, rooted in kinship, patronage, and the power of entrenched local elites. Engagingly written, combining history and profound analysis with reportage from Lieven's extensive travels as a journalist and academic, Pakistan: A Hard Country is both utterly compelling and deeply revealing.


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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Lieven (Chechnya), who has reported on Pakistan off and on for 20 years, offers a compelling argument for reorienting Western interests (and investments) in its wars in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Given its enormous population (six times that of Afghanistan), the key role Pakistani intelligence plays in Western efforts against terrorism, the strong ties between Pakistan and Western countries (especially Britain), and the fact that Pakistan's army is one of Asia's strongest (complete with nuclear weapons), Lieven writes, "Pakistan is quite simply far more important to the region, the West and the world than is Afghanistan: a statement which is a matter not of sentiment but of mathematics." His extensive history and cartography of the country comes equipped with solid policy prescriptions—for drone attacks to be ceased and for the U.S. to acknowledge how powerfully the bungled invasion of Afghanistan contributed to instability in the region—and particularly the growth of the Taliban. Though his language can occasionally be patronizing, Lieven's writing is generally excellent. He wrestles huge amounts of material into a coherent whole, cogently explaining the intricate and interconnected roles played by kinship, regional allegiances, religion, and the military, shedding light on the country "in all its complex patchwork of light and shadow." (Apr.)
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Review

Kirkus, February 15, 2011
“Lieven breaks down his study by specific region; considers the structures of justice, religion, the military and politics in turn; and, finally, in a skillful, insightful synthesis, addresses the history of and issues concerning the Taliban, both Pakistani and Afghani. A well-reasoned, welcome resource for Western "experts" and lay readers alike.”

Edward Luce
“Everybody nowadays seems to take a view on Pakistan. Very few know what they're talking about. Anatol Lieven is that rare observer - a scholar who writes like the best kind of foreign correspondent about a country that he takes and measures on its own terms. Pakistan, a Hard Country offers an intimate and compellingly relevant portrait of an increasingly pivotal nation to the future of the world, for better or for worse. It fills a large gap in our understanding.”
 
Huffington Post, April 3, 2011“Over the last decade, Lieven has been one of the smartest and most fair-minded commentators on the global situation, and in this important, very timely book, he explains the regions, classes, history, and prospects of Pakistan with equal value for both the neophyte and the expert. Based on Lieven's first-hand knowledge of the country for the past 20 years.”

Wall Street Journal, June 27, 2011“[Lieven] brings an infectious enthusiasm to his task of summarizing the workings of the world's sixth most populous country. In this quest, he ranges effortlessly from a police station in Peshawar to a politician's mansion in the Punjab to the mean streets of Karachi. He dishes up pithy observations while delving deep into the nation's history, politics, culture and institutions… Mr. Lieven's eye for detail, command of subcontinental history and old-fashioned shoe-leather reporting make this in many ways an excellent primer on Pakistan.” The Nation, July 18, 2011  “Lieven has written a sensible and thorough exploration of Pakistan’s political sphere… Pakistan is a large subject, and an unforgivingly complicated one at that, yet Lieven manages to tackle some of its most obscure problems without losing his cool... Lieven has written a very measured book, no easy task when writing about such a hard country.” TotalPolitics.com, summer reading guide, June 28, 2011“counter-intuitive… [Lieven] argues that the question should be not why Islamist political movements are so strong in Pakistan today, but why they are so weak. Provocative.” Irish Times, June 4, 2011

The Independent, May 5, 2011
“Lieven's feat lies in his remarkable, flesh-and-blood portrait of the nation, ranging across demographic swathes and including a chorus of voices from farmers to intelligence officers. The picture is one of a semi-anarchic nation mired in police savagery, institutional corruption, population bulges, water shortages and the risk of catastrophic environmental disaster following last year's floods.” The New York Times Book Review, June 26, 2011“Ambitious…a sweeping and insightful narrative.” Newsline Magazine, June, 2011Pakistan: A Hard Country manages to be clear-headed and realistic, a welcome respite from the scare-mongering that taints so many western accounts of Pakistan.” The Organiser (India), June 26, 2011“This book is about the best that has been published in recent times about Pakistan.” MoneyLife (India), June 18, 2011
Pakistan-A Hard Country is one of the most detailed accounts of a country which often seems like it is held together by chewing gum (or willpower, if you like)—but what still makes it tick? Anatol Lieven knows, and it shows in this work.” 

New York Times Book Review, June 26, 2011
“Ambitious…a sweeping and insightful narrative.”

Washington Times, July 7, 2011
“Thanks to Mr. Lieven’s sound scholarship and perceptive insights in ‘Pakistan: A Hard Country,’ readers will come away with a clearer understanding of why it is such a complex, conflicted country and why it will continue to be of vital interest to the United States long after the last American soldier has come home from Afghanistan.”

Policy Review, August/September 2011
“His experience as a reporter gives Lieven both the tone of an insider and a vast affection for the country, which he credits for giving him "some of the best moments" of his life. In an attempt to explain the world's sixth-most populous nation in under 600 pages, Lieven ranges widely, touching upon everything from the rise and fall of landed families in the Punjab to the sloth of the national police to the garish décor in wealthy homes. To this ambitious task the author brings both thoroughness and an impressive familiarity with his subject.” 
DAWN.com, August 2, 2011“a thought-provoking and widely influential new book” DAWN.com September 2, 2011

IBN Live, May 19, 2011
“If I had to review the book 'Pakistan: A Hard Country' in one line I would say it is brilliant. The book is well researched, informative, insightful, but most of all for a country that finds itself often in headline news for the wrong reasons, empathetic.” 
The Age, May 20, 2011“In his fine new book Pakistan. A Hard Country, Lieven argues that while the state is weak, Pakistani society is immensely strong.” New Statesman, May 12, 2011“does much to counter lazy assumptions about the country that proliferate elsewhere" The Spectator, May 13, 2011“His analysis of networks and systems is precise; his accounts of his travels illuminating as well as entertaining.” The Guardian, May 1, 2011“Lieven's Pakistan: A Hard Country is one such blow for clarity and sobriety… Lieven overturns many prejudices, and gives general readers plenty of fresh concepts with which to think about a routinely misrepresented country.” 

The New Republic, May 5, 2011
“his book may be described as the most informed Gazetteer on contemporary Pakistan. Instead of the too often repeated narrative of Pakistan’s history and ills, he offers a broader sweep into the condition of the provinces, the climate, the political parties and their personalities—and, in his best chapter, an important discussion of how today’s Taliban represent a continuation of similar uprisings a century ago. 
Dallas Morning News, May 9, 2011
“Since the death of Osama bin Laden in Pakistan last week, it’s become increasingly clear that anyone hoping to follow international affairs should perhaps have begun watching that country some time ago. Fortunately, Pakistan: A Hard Country serves as an outstanding primer — even reading just the introduction is supremely useful… Lieven crafts a lucid and thoroughly fascinating whole from a wealth of information… Lieven’s writing is excellent, especially crucial in a book tackling a topic with which many readers are entirely unfamiliar. Moreover, he clearly loves the place and its people.
Pakistan: A Hard Country is the work of one of those rare writers able to see his subject in all its complexity, without either turning away or becoming a partisan of one perspective or the other.” 


Evening Standard
, April 21, 2011
“The gulf between…the multiple realities most Pakistanis know - and how outsiders perceive their country is wide and deep. Lieven's book is an ambitious and much-needed attempt to bridge it. The most striking thing about the book is its informed and consistently sensible tone. This tone is not heard much in discussions about Pakistan, and it is refreshing. Lieven writes in an affable, conversational voice, but not a casual one. His observations are precise and judicious.” Financial Times, April 22, 2011“Pakistan, as Anatol Lieven explains in this thorough analysis of the internal sources of this resilience, will not disintegrate easily…He deftly tackles the misperception in the west that Islamist groups might easily sweep through Pakistan.” The Nation, April 13, 2011“This book could hardly be timelier. Lucid and well informed, he deals carefully with Pakistan’s well-known problems. He raises hope, avoiding the hysteria and partial judgment that disfigure much contemporary writing on the subject. Above all, he emanates a deep affection bordering on love for the unfortunate, beleaguered, magical Pakistan.” 


Economist
, April 7, 2011
"Yet for drama, colour and complexity, [Pakistan] is hard to beat; and Anatol Lieven captures the richness of the place wonderfully. His book has the virtues of both journalism and scholarship..."
 
Foreign Policy’s The AfPak Channel blog, April 11, 2011
“The release of Anatol Lieven's latest book, Pakistan: A Hard Country, could not be timelier. This insightful, comprehensive portrait of Pakistan is the perfect antidote to stereotypical descriptions of the country as the most dangerous place in the world… Pakistan: A Hard Country has the power to dampen the paranoia about Pakistan's security complex, put terrorism in perspective, and humanize Pakistanis.” Foreign Affairs, May/June 2011“Challenging the notion that Pakistan is fragile, Lieven presents in exquisite detail how things actually work, for better or for worse, in that ‘hard country.’”

“An insightful book that is part anthropological study, part reportage. Threaded throughout are the voices of ordinary Pakistanis farmers, politicians, spooks, landowners, businessmen, soldiers, judges, clerics and jihadis whose contributions in the form of direct quotes enliven and illuminate this complex yet affectionate portrait of their country. Published just before bin Laden s death, the book does not read as if it has been overtaken by events. Indeed, its textured, penetrating survey of the dynamics shaping contemporary Pakistan could hardly be more timely, given the relative dearth of literature on the subject. Lieven makes a compelling case for why we should pay more attention to what is one of the most important but least understood countries in the world.” 
Small Wars Journal, June 5, 2011“Anatol Lieven has written an excellent book…It is perhaps the one book to read on Pakistan in 2011, and offers a level of nuance required for those wanting to become true specialists on the complexity of Pakistan’s political history.” 

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ PublicAffairs; 1st edition (April 12, 2011)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 592 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1610390210
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1610390217
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.9 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 2.25 x 9 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 out of 5 stars 286

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4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
286 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Reviewed in the United States on December 24, 2013
This book is a truly illuminating study of modern Pakistan, a very large country about which far too little seems to be generally understood by U.S. analysts and policymakers. Pakistan is too often dismissed as a "failed state", and/or analyzed purely in terms of its value (or lack of value) to the U.S. as an ally in the "War on Terror". Instead, it is a highly complex amalgam of many different societies, where strong divisive pressures strain against powerful unifying forces. One of those is a broad anti-Americanism among the Pakistani people, due in large part to U.S. policies since 2001. In regard to Pakistan, Lieven argues, those policies should be reconsidered, given the long-term risks of increasing Pakistani instability.

Anatol Lieven is admirably qualified to deal with the topic: he is both a journalist (reporting on Pakistan and Afghanistan for the London Times) and an academic/thinktank scholar. His book combines the readability and color of good journalism with the thorough research of scholarly work. It is also based on extensive interviews with many Pakistanis from all walks of life, and all regions of the country, which gives it an engrossing human dimension.

The book starts off with an overview of the Pakistani system, which he describes as "weak state, stong societies". He examines the critical role of kinship and patronage relationships, from an anthropological as well as a political view. And he briefly reviews Pakistan's history since Partition. Here, I found myself turning to Wikipedia etc. to fill in missing links, since the author's review assumed more knowledge than I had -- possibly because I'm an American, a British reader would probably be more familiar with this material.

Next, he turns to the basic structures of modern Pakistan -- justice, religion, politics, and above all the military -- devoting a chapter to each. Then, in a section which I found most useful, he devotes a chapter to each of Pakistan's provinces -- the Punjab, Sindh (and Karachi), Balochistan, and the Pathans (that is, the North West Frontier and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas). In each, he looks at the social and ethnic differences within and between regions, and at how that is reflected politically.
The final section is on the Taleban -- the Afghani Taleban, the Pakistani Taleban, and the attitude of Pakistan's people and government to both.

In his conclusion, Lieven says that "it has been above all the US-led campaign in Afghanistan which has been responsible for increasing Islamist insurgency and terrorism in Pakistan since 2001". Earlier, he has established that insurgency as perhaps the most critical problem facing Pakistan's government. U.S. policy with affect the way in which this plays out.

All in all, I found this a very informative, interesting, and readable book, which I would strongly recommend to anyone interested in South Asia, or, indeed, in US policy.
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Reviewed in the United States on September 20, 2011
Anatol Lieven wrote an all encompassing and fascinating book about politics, family dynasties and provincial kinship corporations that defines the mysteries of Pakistan. I was intrigued to read about the lawlessness, the shady and corrupted officials and wondered why this country is not listed as a "failed state" since it has a weak and unresponsive government incapable of controlling the country at large. It somehow manages to survive amid the lack of civility, self-control and internecine violence between the multi-layered tribes, but it does not speak well for the largest Muslim country in the Arab world.

The name Pakistan is an acronym, born in the mindset of students at Cambridge University in the early 20th century. The partitioning would give Muslims a home where they could escape the hardships of Hindu hegemony. However, as they sought religious freedom, it turns out that tribalism, corrupt government officials, recalcitrant and entrenched-rival family ties trumped a meaningful religious life based on the Koran and the reverence of Islamic sages.

The British government, of 19th century India, played a role in the present day animosities over border disputes between India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran. They may have erred in assigning administrative control of Kashmir to India since most of these sacred grounds are located in Pakistan.

As Muslims departed from India and Hindus left Pakistan, pogroms ensued as they crisscrossed. The vision of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, founder of Pakistan, was to build an entirely new country that never before existed. Now, after more than six decades, it is apparent that the major focus of Pakistan is to have a military that is capable of defeating the Indian army. This option is preferred rather than policies geared to provide a competent and stable government that will broaden and strengthen the infrastructure to support the citizenry. This is a book worthy of reading and digesting because Pakistan plays a pivotal role in the quest for tolerance and peace in the region involving the Pashtuns, the Taliban, the Balochs and their interrelationship. Pakistan is indeed a hard country.
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Reviewed in the United States on January 25, 2016
brilliant, highly readable account of history, culture, politics, sociology of pakistan. excellent background for the works of rashid on
taliban; jihad in central asia; descent into chaos&pakistan on the brink - the latter two focused on pakistan. this book and rashid's
books deserve 5 stars - but i leave the fifth star to experts, as my opinion is strictly that of an interested amateur. alas, the recent
attacks in and around peshawar - reportedly by taliban - on major secondary school and university tragically illustrate what challenges
both pakistan and afghanistan must cope with in continuing to build viable constitutional democratic polities to which both
countries are (heroically) committed and determined to achieve.
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Top reviews from other countries

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Thomas R.
5.0 out of 5 stars PAK
Reviewed in Germany on December 14, 2023
Alles bestens.
Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars A good and enlightening overview of Pakistan
Reviewed in India on September 1, 2023
Although a bit dated but nevertheless a fair and all encompassing overview of the state of Pakistan and it's myriad problems and how they affect its stability. Also looking at things from the Army's point of view and how they are justified in thei behaviour to a large extent. A good and enjoyable read.
monica schiavon
5.0 out of 5 stars Veramente ottimo
Reviewed in Italy on May 9, 2019
L'ho comprato in vista di un viaggio in Pakistan. E' estremamente interessante e ben scritto. Affronta tutti i temi per riuscire a capire un paese tanto diverso e mi ha molto aiutato anche durante il viaggio. Lo consiglio assolutamente.
kendai
5.0 out of 5 stars Eye Opening And Entertaining
Reviewed in Canada on February 5, 2014
Most of what I have read about this complex nation dated back to the partition and more recently numerous newspaper and magazine articles. I knew that more in-depth knowledge was needed to evaluate current events affecting a nuclear power that has been increasingly called a "failed nation state".

Fortunately, my first stab at this Anatol Lieven's Pakistan: A Hard Country. With a moniker like that I almost passed (looking for a Pakistani name) but downloaded a sample and knew this guy was not only knowledgeable but easy to read with a wry sense of humour.

Events move fast in this area of the world and the timeline for this book ends mid-2010 yet everything the author predicted after that time has come to pass. If you have questions like:
* is Pakistan now or in the future a "failed nation state"?
* are drone strikes in Pakistan a good strategy"?
*what happens when the west leaves Afghanistan?
then this book is for you
Diacha
5.0 out of 5 stars MY ENEMY'S ENEMY'S ENEMY IS .... MY ENEMY!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 27, 2011
This book is excellent as well as timely. It is full of clear thinking, colorful detail and rich anecdotes about a country whose fate is critical to the West.

Anatole Lieven is a former Times journalist and a professor at Kings College. He has lived and travelled extensively in Pakistan over twenty years and interviewed hundreds of Pakistanis from all walks of life including many current and former military and intelligence personnel. He writes more like a journalist than an academic, in what might be termed a literate, colloquial style. ("The Pathans...(are like)... eighteenth century Scots without the alcohol').

"Pakistan: A Hard Country" is teeming with voices and vignettes, a mini metaphor for the country itself. Thus, for example, we witness a traditional pig hunt hosted by Sardar Mumtaz, scion of the Bhutto clan (the unspeakable in hot pursuit of the unhalalable?) and join an Anglican service in St Johns Cathedral in Peshawar where a few beleaguered Christians sing hymns beneath plaques commemorating Scottish and English soldiers killed by tribal insurgents one hundred and fifty years before. We meet such people as the moderate Islamist Colonel Abdul Qayyum ("The Pakistani army has been a nationalist army with an Islamic look"), Dr Shamim Gul, a grandmotherly police surgeon who takes a futile stand against honour killings ("sometimes the bodies fall to pieces and I have to put them back together') and Shehzad, a "Chekhovian steward" who almost drives his mistress mad ("What can I do? He harasses me unmercilessly but he has been with my father for ever."), Afzad Khan, an ANP politician whose nose seems "to be growing in...emulation of the epic, hereditary protuberances of (the ANP) ruling dynasty," and many others, including tribal chieftains and an anonymous member of a police "encounter" team charged with extra-judicial executions.

Lieven's framing view is that Pakistan is a "negotiated state." It is a complex weave of local, regional, ethnic, religious, tribal and feudal interests held together by a perpetual cycle of "patronage "(which dissipates most of the country's tax revenues but unlike in, say Nigeria, where misappropriated funds end up in Western bank accounts, most trickles back down to the local economies). National governments, whether military such as those of Zia or Musharraf (for whom Lieven seems to have considerable respect), or civilian like those of the Bhuttos or the Sharifs, have only limited powers to control this patchwork. Equally, its fragmentation makes it unlikely, in Lieven's view, to succumb to an Islamist revolution. It will face terrorism and local insurrections, for sure, he asserts, but will not support a national rebellion. Despite its chaos, Pakistan is not a failed state like Somalia. Indeed, it works to a remarkable degree.

While most Pakistani institutions are weak - to the extent that many Pakistanis turn to the harsh justice of tribal and Islamic, even Taliban, tribunals rather than waste time and bribes on the police and official courts- the army stands out as an exception. The Pakistani army is disciplined, proud, relatively well equipped and respected. It is a direct descendant of the colonial military, with its neat cantonments, comradely officers' messes, codes of honour and disportionate recruitment from the Punjab. Within the army, all local fealties are subsumed into a greater loyalty. Even General Zia's moves towards Islamification could not change its essential character. And yet, it is this very institution that alliance with the west is undermining. Most Pakistanis, including many soldiers, view the army as being forced into the position of fighting the West's unpopular war against fellow Muslims. The hair trigger pride of the generals is constantly being provoked by face-losing humiliation at the hands of its allies - this book was written prior to Abbottabad - and the sympathies of the more junior officer corps may be shifting as they are recruited from the more pious, lower middle classes rather than from the old, whisky-swilling elites.

Much is currently being made of the duplicity of Pakistan and in particular its shadowy Inter-Services Intelligence agency in its relations with the US and its Western allies. Lieven notes that Pakistan's behavior is fully understandable. Its interests are only partially aligned with the West; its main security obsession is with India and the fear of "encirclement" by an India-friendly Afghanistan on its opposite flank. Thus it has been Pakistan's strategy to maintain links through the ISI with terrorist groups that could destabilize India and to keep its options open with the Afghan Taliban (the Pakistani Taliban are another matter).

Lieven's advice to the US and its allies is essentially to back off - avoid forcing the army into a corner and allow Pakistan to sort out a peace in Afghanistan. The opposite strategy of further intervention could push Pakistan over the brink with almost unimaginable consequences for the West. Whether this is a workable strategy -given the nuclear stakes in the game -or not, Western policy-makers, from the President down, could do worse than to begin by reading this splendid and provocative book.

P.S. One quibble: there is no map in the book - quite a shortcoming given its nature.
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