Fighting the Taliban: Pakistan at war with itself

Some new groups calling themselves Pakistani Taliban with links to the Afghan Taliban have asserted themselves in the tribal areas of Pakistan. This has complicated the internal security scenario for Pakistan. This article traces the roots of the problem and argues that the State with its confessional character emits strong Islamist impulses making it easy for Taliban-like forces to take roots in Pashtun dominated areas in Pakistan. While the process of Talibanisation may not succeed in engulfing the entire state of Pakistan, it will certainly pose a critical internal challenge, contributing to its fragility and compelling Pakistan to stay perennially engaged with its internal security. Roll back is difficult but not impossible. This will involve the strong commitment of the State to take steps to bring about social, economic and political transformation in the Taliban-infested areas, and an effort on the part of the international community to help Pakistan in this critical endeavour.     

Twenty‐first Century Industrial Policy in a Small Developing Country: The Challenges of Reviving Manufacturing in Rwanda

The Rwandan government — widely lauded for its political commitment to development — has refocused its efforts on reviving growth in the manufacturing sector. This article examines how pressures from different levels — international, regional and domestic — have shaped the evolving political economy of two priority sectors (apparel and cement). To achieve its goals of manufacturing sector growth, the Rwandan government aims to access foreign markets (on preferential terms) and larger regional markets while developing effective state–business relationships with locally based firms. Despite the government's political commitment to reviving its manufacturing sector, its strategy has been both shaped and impeded by shifting pressures at the international level (through Rwanda's recent suspension from the African Growth and Opportunity Act), the regional level (through competition from regional firms) and the domestic level (through over‐reliance on single firms). Within the current industrial policy literature, there is limited reflection on how developing countries are dealing with the multi‐scalar challenges of enacting industrial policy in a much‐changed global trading environment. This article contributes to the industrial policy literature by addressing this lacuna.