Imagining Pakistan

This study examines the conflict between two visions for Pakistan: a modern constitutional framework and an Islamist state. The author argues that Western liberal ideas were at the root of Pakistan’s creation, analyzes the society’s drift away from its founding philosophy, and assesses optimistic indications of its revival.

Rasul Bakhsh Rais is professor of political science at the Lahore University of Management Sciences.

Chapter 1: Introduction Chapter 2: Islam and the State Chapter 3: Modernism and Imagining of Pakistan Chapter 4: Erosion of Modernist Tradition Chapter 5: State in Decline Chapter 6: The Politics of Islamic Revival Chapter 7: The Struggle Within Chapter 8: Conclusion: Reviving the State and Society