The Defiant Border

Reviews / Votes

'Elisabeth Leake explains why a small and peripheral part of the world, the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of the frontier region between Pakistan and Afghanistan, should have had for much of the twentieth century an influence out of all proportion to their size on the politics both of surrounding states and of the great powers. This book is essential reading for those interested in the geopolitics of South Asia in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.' Francis Robinson, Royal Holloway, University of London 'By putting the politics of imperialism and the Cold War at the heart of the study of the Afghanistan-Pakistan frontier region, this book makes a novel theoretical and empirical contribution to the study of this troubled part of the world. Scholars, students, and policy-makers alike should all read Leake's thought-provoking and carefully researched study.' Magnus Marsden, Director of Sussex Asia Centre, University of Sussex 'In The Defiant Border, Elisabeth Leake tells the important and neglected story of South Asia's other great rivalry: the contested border between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Bridging the colonial and post-colonial eras, this book depicts the stubborn endurance of imperial borders, the power of local actors, and the challenges these posed to great powers. Based on impressive research across three continents, carefully argued, and cogently written, this is a major contribution to the study of South Asia in the world.' Robert B. Rakove, Stanford University, California '... Leake's The Defiant Border sets out a new, comprehensive, and compelling intellectual roadmap with which to navigate the complex historical terrain that has shaped the Afghan-Pakistan borderlands over the course of the last century.' Paul M. McGarr, H-Diplo 'In tracing the appeal of the borderlands for various powers, Leake, through gaps in the archives, weaves an intricate historical description that resists any homogeneous linear narrativization of Pashtun as an identity and Pashtunistan as a movement and the complex entanglement of the latter with Kashmir. These contributions are particularly relevant for the current political moment unfolding in Pakistan named the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) - a movement to demand an end to the violence inflicted on the lives of those in the Pashtun borderlands ... Leake's book is widely appealing.' Zunaira Komal, H-Net Reviews (H-Net.org/reviews)