Includes bibliographical references and index.

Introduction: Pakistan, the interface-state / Christophe Jaffrelot -- The military and democracy / Aqil Shah -- The operational dynamics of political parties in Pakistan / Muhammad Wassem -- The judiciary as a political actor / Philip Oldenburg -- Turmoil in the frontier / Mariam Abou Zahab -- Internal security issues in Pakistan: prospects of police and law enforcement reform / Hassan Abbas -- Pakistan's economy: domestic dissent and foreign reliance / Shahid Javed Burki and Dann Naseemullah -- The Pakistan-Afghan relations: there are no endgames / Avinash Paliwal -- The US-Pakistan relations under Obama : resilience of clientelism? / Christophe Jaffrelot -- Pakistan-China symbiotic relations / Farah Jan and Serge Granger -- Pakistan between Saudi Arabia and Iran: Islam in the politics and economics of western Asia / Sana Haroon.