Abstract
This article is concerned with a significant grand strategic choice that Pakistan faces concerning its relations with China. The relationship between Pakistan and the United States has deteriorated since the US Special Forces found and killed Osama Bin Laden in the Pakistani city of Abbottabad in May 2011. Instead, Pakistan has been recalibrating its grand strategy enabling it to get closer to China. The country has received large Chinese investment to start several infrastructural projects in Pakistan as part of the Belt and Road Initiative. We argue that Pakistan is making a grave strategic mistake. Its partnership with China is unnatural and it will count against its core interests in the future. We suggest that Pakistan should reorient its grand strategy in order to bring it closer to Western democracies. Doing so will ensure greater security, economic development and sovereign independence for Pakistan.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 351-358 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | Contemporary South Asia |
| Volume | 28 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| Early online date | 17 Feb 2020 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 31 Dec 2020 |
Funding
The authors are thankful to the anonymous reviewer of this article whose comments and suggestions helped strengthen its main arguments.
Keywords
- BRI
- CPEC
- China
- Pakistan
- Quad
- grand strategy
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Geography, Planning and Development
- Development
- Political Science and International Relations
Access to Document
- Article_Pure_uploaded_version (1).PDF
This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Contemporary South Asia on 17 Feb 2020, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/09584935.2020.1723493
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Wali Aslam
- Politics, Languages & International Studies - Reader (Associate Professor)
- MENA Social Policy Network
- Centre for the Study of Violence
Person: Research & Teaching, Affiliate staff