International Relations - Essay Example

Pakistan: Facing the challenges of the 21st century Pakistan as a country has experienced an interesting history as characterized by internal conflicts, military rule, external disputes with neighboring countries and a host of problems that contributed to economic and political instability. Presently, the country is also beleaguered by problems typical to that of underdeveloped states –illiteracy, corruption, poverty and rising debt. Although Pakistan faces many challenges, it can be said that it is struggling to become a whole nation as evidenced by some progress.

Pakistan state is reflected by its economy as CIA Factbook characterizes Pakistan as “an impoverished and underdeveloped country”. Nevertheless, in the early part of the century, the government has been spending to usher development which significantly reduced poverty levels and created a semi-industrialized economy (CIA Factbook, 2009). As a country strives to push for a stronger economy, there is a chance of progress in a gradual basis. In fact, Pakistan today is considered as having the 27th largest economy in terms of purchasing power and has the second largest economy in South Asia (Bloomberg, 2009).

Nonetheless, the country is still struggling with inflation and rising foreign debt as worsened by the world financial crisis in 2008. The good thing about Pakistan is that countries like the United States and international organizations (IMF) have initiatives to help Pakistan recover from a bad economy which can possibly improve its economic situation in the future. In short, Pakistan is not a failed state, it is a country marred by a long political history that affected its economy. It is torn by internal conflicts and pressure from groups like Taliban but it is essentially a state with a functional government.

If one takes a closer look at news about Pakistan, much reports harp on widespread violence as caused by terrorism. This includes suicide bombings and killings of foreign nationals. Another issue that most political analysts see as an indicator of mounting political instability is the recent defection of two allied parties of Mr.Zardari’s government in January 2011 plus the assassination of a very important governor – Salman Taseer ( New York Times, 2011).Indeed, it is very disheartening to hear news about such incidents because it contributes another setback to Pakistan’s efforts as a country to heal.

Having said that, hopes should not be lost and the Pakistan state would still thrive as the United States supports Pakistan: “The Barack Obama administration has reaffirmed a U.S. strategic partnership with Pakistan. In particular, the U.S. Congress passed the Kerry-Lugar-Berman (KLB) legislation to authorize $1.5 billion in non-military assistance to Pakistan annually for 5 years, which President Obama signed into law on October 15, 2009“ ( Pakistan State Society Analysis, 2009). A country with close ties with United States would most likely attain some progress because there is an invested interest to maintain it as a close ally strategic military reasons.

It would also be worth mentioning that Pakistan is already considered as a non-NATO ally. The Pakistan state is predominantly under the grip of military power which can also be very aggressive in its position especially when it comes to nuclear arms building. Nevertheless, external pressure from international organizations helps keep Pakistan neutral and even helpful to world peacekeeping. After all, its military belongs to one of the top well-organized military structures in the world. This also reflects its preparedness to arrest concerns regarding national and domestic security.

In conclusion, Pakistan is not a failed state, it is only riddled by political and economic challenges. Many countries with histories of civil wars and border disputes have the same fabric of history with Pakistan. Although their past influences their economy, culture, and politics, there are still various external forces that possibly help the country towards recovery and unification. References: CIA- The World Factbook [online]. (2011) [Accessed January 28,2011]. Available from: . Farran Shariff (2009).

 Bloomberg [online]. [Accessed January 28,2011]. Available from: . Marco Mezera, Sofia Aftab (2009, January). Pakistan State Society Analysis. (11). Netherland Institute of International Relations, Netherlands. Available from: . Accessed: January 28,2011. Pakistan.New York Times [online]. (2011) [Accessed Jan 28,2011]. Available from: .