What do you think?
Rate this book
Pakistan and World Affairs
- GenresPakistan
623 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2014
236 people are currently reading
2168 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 49 reviews
Want to read
November 23, 2019How we can read this book
November 13, 2016
Although most of the topics discussed are the usual ones but Shamshad has thrown light on these issues from a strategic angle like a statesman he is. Also, some pretty amazing things have been highlighted so it is a fruitful endeavour to study the book.
October 9, 2020
How to read here???
Read
December 26, 2019Bkwas and waisted my time
January 31, 2023
Tried to read it but the difficult jargons used by the author made it very difficult for me to understand the contents of the books. However, this books expounds on almost every aspect of pakistan, from pre partition to post partition.
This book explains, how to succeed in diplomacy is a question simply answered, though the answer is more easily stated than practiced: “maintain armed forces larger and heavier than those of your rival and well adapted to the service of your political purposes, and conclude alliances with other powers against your potential enemy, taking care to keep him isolated. But avoid allies far stronger or far weaker than yourself for the former will seek to rule you and the latter will bring you to ruin by proving liability in war and a constant drain on your resources in peace. One powerful and trustworthy ally is worth a dozen feeble and fickle allies.
If history is any lesson, things never remain static. They keep changing as the world and its dynamics do, not magically, not providentially but by the inevitable process of change that is always inherent in the rise and fall of power. And historically, the rise and fall of power mostly followed long wars. The twelve year-long war in Afghanistan is about to end. The process of change, it seems, is about to begin. The Afghan endgame would perhaps be the beginning of the change…But what kind of change do we expect at the end of this long war?”
“Again, if history is any lesson, at the end of the Napoleonic Wars, the World War I and World War II, it was the victors in each war that installed a peace to preserve the gains they had made. Do we have any idea who at the end of the Afghan war is going to be the victor? Not chaos, one hopes. An ominous uncertainty still looms large on the horizon, leaving us with no reason to be euphoric about the post-2014 scenario.
Academic inquiry has to be objective enough not to leave the readers’ minds with unanswered questions. This book is not intended to fill any void in academic minds but is only a modest attempt by a practitioner of diplomacy and international relations, who spent his professional lifetime in dealing with relations between and among states, to contribute to a more focused and clearer understanding of the domestic as well as global perspectives.”
This book explains, how to succeed in diplomacy is a question simply answered, though the answer is more easily stated than practiced: “maintain armed forces larger and heavier than those of your rival and well adapted to the service of your political purposes, and conclude alliances with other powers against your potential enemy, taking care to keep him isolated. But avoid allies far stronger or far weaker than yourself for the former will seek to rule you and the latter will bring you to ruin by proving liability in war and a constant drain on your resources in peace. One powerful and trustworthy ally is worth a dozen feeble and fickle allies.
If history is any lesson, things never remain static. They keep changing as the world and its dynamics do, not magically, not providentially but by the inevitable process of change that is always inherent in the rise and fall of power. And historically, the rise and fall of power mostly followed long wars. The twelve year-long war in Afghanistan is about to end. The process of change, it seems, is about to begin. The Afghan endgame would perhaps be the beginning of the change…But what kind of change do we expect at the end of this long war?”
“Again, if history is any lesson, at the end of the Napoleonic Wars, the World War I and World War II, it was the victors in each war that installed a peace to preserve the gains they had made. Do we have any idea who at the end of the Afghan war is going to be the victor? Not chaos, one hopes. An ominous uncertainty still looms large on the horizon, leaving us with no reason to be euphoric about the post-2014 scenario.
Academic inquiry has to be objective enough not to leave the readers’ minds with unanswered questions. This book is not intended to fill any void in academic minds but is only a modest attempt by a practitioner of diplomacy and international relations, who spent his professional lifetime in dealing with relations between and among states, to contribute to a more focused and clearer understanding of the domestic as well as global perspectives.”
May 29, 2020
Tried to read it but the difficult jargons used by the author made it very difficult for me to understand the contents of the books. However, this books expounds on almost every aspect of pakistan, from pre partition to post partition.
February 14, 2018
good one
March 11, 2019
I did tried to read it, but unfortunately this book is not worth spending time. A lot of good books are available in market.
April 14, 2019
good
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Want to read
July 16, 2019i want to update my knowledge .
November 5, 2019
Very good
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 6, 2019
Great app
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Read
November 6, 2019Good
Read
November 8, 2019kdkdkdkk
Read
November 8, 2019it is a good book
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Read
November 14, 2019i want nothing but reading world affair and Pakistan for the sake
of enhancing kwoldege
of enhancing kwoldege
Want to read
December 11, 2019How to download?
Want to read
December 21, 2019How to download pls ?
December 22, 2019
It's a great a book in which the Writer expressed his thought very deeply.
December 23, 2019
Good book
December 23, 2019
Gr8 book
Want to read
December 25, 2019how to read this book
Want to read
December 25, 2019How is the open book
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Want to read
December 28, 2019FPSC
Want to read
December 29, 2019GOOOD
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 49 reviews