Includes bibliographical references and index.

Prologue: the October 1999 Coup -- The Ascendancy of the Military -- Military Regimes -- Military Disengagement and Civilianization of Military Rule -- Post-withdrawal Military, State and Society -- Civil-Military Interaction -- The State and the Political Process -- The Military -- Expansion of the Role of the Military -- The Societal Factors -- Internal Dynamics of the Military -- Transactions across the Boundaries between the Civil and the Military -- The International Dimension -- The Military Regime -- Military Withdrawal -- The Heritage -- The Foundations -- The Recruitment Policy -- Civil-Military Relations -- The Military and Imperial Rule -- Indianization of the Commissioned Ranks -- The Military and Politics -- Division of the Military -- Civilian Institutions and the Military -- State Formation and the Security Environment -- Reorganization of the Military -- Priority to Defence Requirements -- Diplomacy and Weapons Procurement -- The Strategic Doctrine -- Civilian Institution-building -- The Military and the Political Process -- Institutional Imbalance -- The First Military Regime -- Martial Law Administration -- Administrative Measures -- The Social Sector -- Major Economic Measures -- Political and Constitutional Changes -- Basic Democracies -- The Presidential Referendum -- The Constitution Commission -- Enforcement of the Constitution -- Authoritarian Clientelism: Post-Martial Law Rule -- The Ayubian Political Order -- Interaction with the Military -- Defence and Security Issues -- Political Dynamics -- The Collapse of the Ayub Regime -- The Second Military Regime -- The Nature and Style of the Military Regime -- Major Administrative Measures -- Political Strategies and Elections -- The East Pakistan Crisis -- Civil War and Disintegration -- Civilian Interlude -- REassertion of Civilian Supremacy -- The Security Imperatives and the Military -- Civil-Military Interaction -- The Political Process and Civilian Institution-building -- The General Elections -- The Military and the Political Crisis -- The Third Military Regime -- Political Priorities -- Islamization -- The Politics of Co-option -- The Politics of Exclusion -- Expansion of the Role of the Military -- Civilianization of Military Rule -- Post-Withdrawal Civil-Military Relations -- The Military and Policy-making -- The Intelligence Agencies -- Problems of Governance -- The Junejo Government -- The Changing Role of the Senior Commanders -- Benazir Bhutto's First Term -- The First Nawaz Sharif Government -- Benazir Bhutto's Second Term -- Nawaz Sharif's Second Term -- The Changing Parameters -- Civilian Jobs and Material Rewards -- Industrial and Commercial Interests -- Ethnicity and Social Background -- Islam and the Military.

This book offers a comprehensive study of the dynamics of civil-military relations in Pakistan. It asks how and why the Pakistan military has acquired such a salience in the polity and how it continues to influence decision-making on foreign and security policies and key domestic political, social and economic issues. It also examines the changes within the military, the impact of these changes on its disposition towards the state and society, and the implications for peace and security in nuclearized South Asia.