PAKISTAN: A CONTINUING CRISIS, AN UNCERTAIN FUTURE
Stephen P. Cohen, Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution
Pakistan is home to some of the world’s most treacherous borders, armed with nuclear weapons, and beset by terrorist bombings and assassinations. NATO’s recent deadly air strike on two Pakistani frontier outposts has added to the uncertainty of continued U.S.-Pakistan cooperation. Multiple crises befell this critical relationship during the past year—from the repatriation of CIA contractor Raymond Davis to the assassination of Osama Bin Laden and the resignation of Pakistan’s ambassador to the United States after “memogate.” If relations between the United States and Pakistan continue to deteriorate, what will be the effect on policies Islamabad pursues? How will thawing relations with India impact Pakistan’s foreign policy agenda? Will President Zardari’s civilian government survive, or is another military coup on the horizon?
Stephen P. Cohen is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, specializing in South Asian political and security issues. Prior to joining the Brookings Institution, Cohen was a professor of political science and history at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He has authored, coauthored, and edited a number of books, primarily on South Asian security issues. In 2008, Cohen was a visiting professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy in Singapore. He has consulted for numerous foundations and government agencies, and was a member of the policy planning staff at the U.S. Department of State from 1985 to 1987. In 2004, Cohen was named by the World Affairs Councils of America as one of America’s 500 most influential people in the area of foreign policy. He is a member of the National Academy of Science’s Committee on International Security and Arms Control, and is the founder of several arms control and security-related institutions in the United States and South Asia. Cohen received his B.A. and M.A. from the University of Chicago, and his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
His latest book, The Future of Pakistan, will be available for purchase and signing following the program.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
- C. Christine Fair, “Pakistan’s Slow-Motion Coup,” Foreign Policy, 01/05/2012
- Ahmed Rashid, “Can Pakistan step back from the brink?” BBC, 01/02/2012
- Hassan Abbas, “How Obama Can Fix U.S.-Pakistani Relations,” Foreign Affairs, 12/21/2011
- Stephen P. Cohen, “Pakistan: No Friend and a Fading Ally,” Brookings Institution’s Up Front Blog, 12/05/2011
- “After Deadly Raid, How Can Pakistan, U.S. Ease Tensions?” PBS NewsHour, 11/28/2011
Additional speaker information:
- Learn more about Cohen's latest book
- Watch Cohen’s interview on “Pakistan’s Future in Question,” 12/02/2011