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{
  "authors": [
    "Frederic Grare"
  ],
  "type": "other",
  "centerAffiliationAll": "dc",
  "centers": [
    "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace"
  ],
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  "englishNewsletterAll": "ctw",
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  "primaryCenter": "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
  "programAffiliation": "SAP",
  "programs": [
    "South Asia"
  ],
  "projects": [],
  "regions": [
    "South Asia",
    "Pakistan"
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  "topics": [
    "Political Reform",
    "Democracy",
    "Security",
    "Military",
    "Civil Society",
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  ]
}

Source: Getty

Other

Pakistan’s Foreign and Security Policies after the 2013 General Election

Nawaz Sharif’s biggest challenge will be to improve Pakistan’s security without provoking a military backlash.

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By Frederic Grare
Published on Jul 10, 2013
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South Asia

The South Asia Program informs policy debates relating to the region’s security, economy, and political development. From strategic competition in the Indo-Pacific to India’s internal dynamics and U.S. engagement with the region, the program offers in-depth, rigorous research and analysis on South Asia’s most critical challenges.

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Source: International Affairs

This article examines the consequences of Nawaz Sharif's electoral victory in Pakistan's 2013 general election on the country's foreign and security policies. It analyses the relationships the new government is likely to entertain with the military institutions and the judiciary, and tries to identify the potential vulnerabilities of the new authorities.

It concludes that the security situation will improve marginally, at best, and that a relatively smooth working relationship with the US, dictated by the constraints of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, can be anticipated.

Relations with India are likely to constitute the real test of the political freedom enjoyed by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif vis-à-vis the military. The difficulty will be to calibrate the relationship to avoid provoking a backlash with the military.

The full paper is available for download from International Affairs.

About the Author

Frederic Grare

Former Nonresident Senior Fellow, South Asia Program

Frédéric Grare was a nonresident senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, where his research focuses on Indo-Pacific dynamics, the search for a security architecture, and South Asia Security issues.

    Recent Work

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Frederic Grare
Former Nonresident Senior Fellow, South Asia Program
Frederic Grare
Political ReformDemocracySecurityMilitaryCivil SocietyForeign PolicySouth AsiaPakistan

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

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