St. Mary’s College Professor of Political Science Sahar Shafqat has recently published a new book, titled “Pakistan’s Political Parties: Surviving between Dictatorship and Democracy” (Georgetown University Press), with co-authors Mariam Mufti from the University of Waterloo and Niloufer Siddiqui from the Rockefeller College at University at Albany, State University of New York.
With Pakistan's 2018 general elections marking the second successful transfer of power from one elected civilian government to another, the book examines how the civilian side of the state's current regime has survived the transition to democracy, providing critical insight into the evolution of political parties in Pakistan and their role in developing democracies in general.
Reviews from peers are positive: “This is truly an important contribution to the literature on political parties and electoral considerations in Pakistan. There is nothing like it that currently exists,” wrote Charles H. Kennedy, professor, Department of Political Science and International Relations and director, Middle East and South Asia Program, Wake Forest University.
“This is a long overdue, but essential, contribution to our understanding of Pakistan. With an impressive author list, this will become the go-to book on understanding political parties in Pakistan's hybrid regime,” wrote Katharine Adeney, director of the University of Nottingham Asia Research Institute.
Shafqat’s book can be purchased here: http://press.georgetown.edu/book/georgetown/pakistans-political-parties?fbclid=IwAR1V9kXIX9vfyIiYHZ7yAmSx2DreptTDyAliq6hMcKBFBndAa5jBPsvH1Rg
