Role of Media and Islam in Pakistan’s Politics

With the end of the cold war, the drive towards democratization assumed center state. stunned of a total 206 states in the world, 195 claims to be either democratic or republican. In spite of it, the personality and function of many self pro claimed democratic systems leave frequently to be desired. This has led to transnational efforts, led by the US, to engage in the twin task of democracy promotion and democracy fosterion. India join the community of the democracies in 2000, at the turn of the millennium, and later became a member of the UN democratic funds in2005.It has sought- afterward(a) to contribute to the efforts aimed at promotion and strengthening of democracy in its own way. The spring of the leger downstairs review, Professor Muni, calls it significant shift in Indias hostile policy. As a close pursual of Indias foreign policy he has tries to isolated the democracy dimension in Indias foreign policy towards its immediate dwells on an individual country basis over three distinct arranges, which makes enkindle readings. Professor Muni has enough experience as an academic and a diplomat to comment on such(prenominal) an important issue with great care and diligence.After a brief review of theories of democracies and its interface with foreign policy, the creator situates the Indian experience over three different phases. He argues during the first phase (1947-1960s) soon after freedom from colonial rule, India emphasis independence and nationalism. The principal architect of Indian foreign policy, Jawahar Lal Nehru, instal let out to build of free, cooperative and peaceful Asia. This explained Nehrus vociferous argument in favor of inclusion body of communist china in the comity of nations as an independent state.He went on to fashioned his policy of non co-occurrence as a main benchmark of Indias foreign policy and try to stay out of the bipolar power politics. His policies towards neighboring countries demonstrated his predilectio n for democracies in spite of the compromises he made to nurture the strategic and economic interests of India. The author makes a detailed analysis of Nehrus approach towards Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan, Myanmar and Pakistan and concludes that Nehrus preferences for democracies was very much trumped by Indias vital security concerns.During the second phase (1960s-2000) the successors of Nehru, the author argues, adopted a practical policy devoid an idealism that marked the Nehru years. The business office 1962 (sino-indian war) years, as Nehru confessed shocked him out of his idealism and prepared the grounds for unapologetic realism in Indian foreign policy. Professor Muni demonstrate th cranky his memorial of twists and turns of Nepalese politics that Indian supported democratic moments in Nepal when its suited its strategic interests unencumbered quandary that characterized by Nehruvian years.All through, the main driver of Indias policy towards neighbors was to keep the region free from adversarial influences. The security challenges post by china and Pakistan largely determined the parameters of Indias foreign policy since the mid-seventies. Even as India evolved as a democratic nation and institutions promoting democratic values took firm roots in the country, during this phase on that point was no enthusiasm to propagate democracy and encourage democratic forces in the neighborhood.Nevertheless, India played an important utilisation in the liberation of East Pakistan in 1971, integrated Sikkim in 1975 and supported exiled democratic forces from Myanmar in 1970s and 1980s. Democracy mattered only when it converged with Indias strategic interests. However, india choose to diassociate it self from democratic forces in the mid 1970s. in Bhutan, indias sided with the king and discouraged the popular movement raised by Bhutanis of Nepales region. It is quiet and other india strained the nepaled king to negotiate with the democratic forces in 1988.In the case of Myanmar, since the late 1980s, it decided to mend its relationship with the soldiery Junta and ignore the democratic forces to balance chinas increasing proximity to Myanmar. The third phase since the start of new millennium as found India in the company of US, seeking to promote and protect democracy around the world. India has calibrated its policy towards its neighbors accordingly. Despite its aversion from the maost of Nepal, it played a critical region in the mainstreaming of this group and revived the democratic process.Despite playing a modest but critical eccentric in Bangladeshs return to democracy in 1990, it has maintained a study aloofness from the rough and tumble of Bangladesh politics. In recent years a fresh wave of the democracy swept the neighborhood. The author has appreciated Indias diplomatic responses to these changes. There is also a brief discussion on Indias efforts and indo-US coordination in the process of reconstruction and democratization in A fghanistan since 9/11.The author implies that in view of Indias strategic interests in Afghanistan, it is imperative for India to continue with its developmental work despite attacks on its citizens by paksitan-sponsopred terrorists. In some author suggest that in its conduct of foreign policy, India should not blindly follow the US at the cost of its strategic interests. The book provides useful insights to Indias neighborhood policy over the oddment six decades. The author brings to bear his personal interaction many leading actors in both India and Nepal to stick his analysis of Nepalese politics forcefully.His study of other neighbors of India somehow struggles to come that level of compliance and intensity. To be share to the author, given indias leverage in Nepal and its ability to influence its politics, Nepal was certain to attract that much oversight and care. However, one wondered if the author have accorded some space to Indias reaction to the imperfect character of Sr ilankan democracy with its lack of emphasis on inclusivity and pluralism. Given the threat it posed to the Srilankan polity and deep Indian involvement in the 1980s, Srilanka deserved some attention in the book.To the conclusion reader of the book finds the book and the author holds a strong grip over the material and issue it contained. The book deserve the attention of foreign policy analysts and scholars of international relations in India because in recent years India has sought to hitch out its neighborhood policy tentatively with emphasis on building a web of interdependencies the neighbor and finally the book is a good depiction of Indias foreign policy specially in reference to its influences the democratic scenario in the outer world.