Pakistan is a vulnerable nation, seen by many as a failed state. But Pakistan is also a frontline state, portentously positioned between Afghanistan and India, and crucial to US interests in South Asia. The country makes headlines with earthquakes, political turbulence, the battle with fundamentalists and Al-Qaeda, ethnic violence and human rights issues. Yet behind the headlines there is little understanding of this land and its people. This is reflected too in the lack of scholarship and academic interest in Pakistan. In this issue of IIAS Newsletter we hope to open the door a little on this complex and troubled society with a series of articles which probe deeper into underlying problems than most newspaper headlines can afford to do. I am grateful to Kristoffel Lieten for guest editing this Pakistan special.
The international financial crisis is also felt in Asia, but in a way different from the West. In his regular column, Kerry Brown explains that China will probably come out as a winner. No doubt the shifting financial balance will also lead to a shift in political power in the world.
This is the last issue of the IIAS Newsletter in the present form. The next issue will be the 50th Newsletter of our institute, and time for a new and fresh look. The name will be The Newsletter, the style will be different but it will remain recognisable as the newsletter of the International Institute for Asian Studies, made by the same editor Anna Yeadell. Most importantly, the main line will be continued: informative articles written by experts for a broad readership on all aspects of Asian societies, past and present.
