JOCHEN HIPPLER AND VAQAR AHMED (EDITORS), (PAKISTAN, FRIEDRICH EBERT
STIFTUNG, 2022) 292 PAGES.
SAFIA MALIK RESEARCH OFFICER AT CISSS.
Globalization is a complex and multi-dimensional phenomenon. The advancement in the means of communication and technology has played the role of a catalyst in intensifying international economic, social and political integration thus accelerating the process of globalization. Pakistan, a member of the global community, competes economically and on cultural, geo-political and diplomatic fronts. Jochen Hippler and Vaqar Ahmed’s book, Global Pakistan: Pakistan’s Role in the International System, explores Pakistan’s role in the international system and the challenges posed to it due to globalization. The book comprises eleven chapters including an introduction by Jochen Hippler, former Country Director Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES), Pakistan. The book in a broader context addresses three themes: (i) political, cultural, religious and geo-strategic impact of globalization on Pakistan; (ii) changing global geo-political landscape; and (iii) integration of state economy with the global economy. The book assesses the religious, political and cultural impact of globalization on Pakistan including challenges of globalization faced by the country. This theme contains three chapters: (i) Nation States in the Era of Globalization: What Pakistan can learn from others? By Hassan Jalil Shah and Aamir Khattak; (ii) Globalization, Islam and Culture; Lessons from Pakistan’s Occluded Histories by Feriyal Amal Aslam and Ayesha Rasheed Dar; and (iii) Risks, Challenges and Opportunities in Globalization: Carving a Role for Pakistan by Mustafa Hyder Sayed. They assess that in a globalized environment, several countries in the world including South Korea, Vietnam and Bangladesh have a close resemblance to the challenges faced by Pakistan. Islamabad should learn from those who have successfully traversed the difficult path and surmounted the ostensibly insurmountable challenges identical to those being faced by Pakistan (pg. 34). Feriyal Amal Aslam and Ayesha Rasheed Dar applied Jan Naderveen Pieterse’s model of hybridity and its premises that the “Muslims world is a fertile area of hybridization” for interrogating the impact of globalization on Pakistani society and culture. The authors argue that Pakistan on one hand aspires to remain a modern Islamic democracy with the commitment to modern democratic freedom and on the other hand, a theocratic tendency, inherent in the freedom movement and later co-opted in its constitutional and legal provisions by successive governments, requires a manifest adherence to Islamic laws and morality. Mustafa Hyder Sayed points out that the Foreign Office of Pakistan should have “Targeted Diplomacy” by engaging civil society, think tanks, pressure groups and media of the host countries in shaping public opinion in the interest of Pakistan (pg. 225). In curbing the economic crisis of Pakistan, there is a need for the “Islamabad Consensus” to make a 15-20-year economic policy that is adhered to regardless of which party is in power (pg. 229). The following two chapters discussed changing global geo-political landscape and its impact on Pakistan’s foreign policy-making process: (i) Global Geo-Political Changes, International Political System and Pakistan by Zahid Shahab Ahmed; and (ii) A Rearticulation of Pakistan’s Foreign Policy in the Wake of the Twenty-First Century Challenges by Huma Naz Siddiqui Baqai. Both authors suggest that Pakistan should try to maintain a balanced relationship with the US and China. The authors recommend that Pakistan should remain committed to “connectivity” and try to exploit CPEC and New Quad signed in May 2021 by the US, Uzbekistan, Pakistan and Afghanistan for regional support to Afghan peace process as golden opportunities. The following two chapters are dedicated to the impact of the global economy on Pakistan including (i) High-quality Education to Survive in the Global Economy Pakistan’s Perspective by Fareeha Adil, Rabia Tabassum, and Nudrat Fatima; (ii) Supporting Export Competitiveness in Pakistan’s Industrial Sector Amid Covid-19 by Syed Shujaat Ahmed and Vaqar Ahmed. According to international practices, several international study programme and internships can help in transforming market orientation and required skills for the students that includes the Japanese professional development method of Lesson Study, real-world learning, use of technology, role play and video-based reflections. Syed Shujaat Ahmed and Vaqar Ahmed analyze that the pandemic has led to changes in the production, cost of trade, and quality standards demanded by international buyers. Therefore, it is important to develop rapid evidence-use systems including trade portals and commodity-wise dashboards which inform both buyers and sellers in case of disruption (pg. 269). Apart from this, some chapters comprise miscellaneous themes including climate change, emigration from Pakistan and Pakistan’s role in the UN. The chapter on The Effects of the Global Changes in Climate on Pakistan by Fahad Saeed and Kashif Majid Salik, traces Pakistan’s various initiatives to mitigate the climate change impact including, the “ten billion Trees Afforestation Project”. Shafqat Munir Ahmed’s chapter, Emigration from Pakistan How influential is the Diaspora? Notes that Pakistani emigrants are five cents of its population, 95.70% of whom reside in Gulf countries and the remaining 4.30% are in the West, enjoying a very limited role in the decision-making process of host countries. The author suggests that the Information Ministry, Foreign Affairs and Ministries of Overseas Pakistani should come up with a comprehensive plan to use emigrants for the promotion of the best interest of the country. Nausheen Wasi in her chapter The Place and Role of Pakistan in International United Nations Organizations assesses Pakistan’s relations with the UN in political and developmental domains. The author underscores Pakistan’s concerns about India’s bid to get a permanent seat in Security Council are genuine. India’s continued propaganda for placing Pakistan on FATF grey list and recently as the president of UNSC its denial to invite Pakistan to the meeting of Afghanistan, testify to Pakistan’s concerns (pg. 134). Pakistan is also establishing the balance of power in South Asia by proposing a large number of nuclear nonproliferation and disarmament-related initiatives through the forum of UN. (pg. 134). The author recommends that the government needs to have digital and physical infrastructure capacity and fool-proof systems for fund utilization, coordination between the center, the provincial government and UN agencies to implement agreed proposals and promotion of research culture through the US-Pakistan partnership. The book is an interesting read with a comprehensive and balanced compilation by editors. The contributions are well-researched. Keeping in view the significance of Pakistan’s geographical location, contributors recommend that the country need shift from a geo-strategic to a geo-economic one. Furthermore, they argue that Pakistan is an inward-looking country that generally focuses on the country itself or on its relationships with its immediate neighbors, needs to adopt the global approach. The authors have also pointed out the foreign policy challenges the country is facing in maintaining balance between the US and China and suggested that Islamabad should focus on geo-economic model to maximize its foreign policy objectives. Safia Malik is a Research Officer at Center for International Strategic Studies Sindh (CISSS). The Book Review was first published in Journal of Contemporary Studies, Vol XI, No 2, Winter (2022).