Political Kinship in Pakistan

South Asian politics have long been characterized as dynastic, but Steve Lyon contends that this overly simplifies the extent to which dynasties depend on the support of distinct, self-interested lineage groups. In Political Kinship in Pakistan, Lyon illustrates how contemporary politics in Pakistan are built on complex kinship networks created through marriage and descent relations. The relative fragility of the Pakistani state has long begged the question of how it can continue to function in the face of radical shocks. Lyon points to kinship as a critical mechanism for understanding both Pakistan’s continued inability to develop strong and stable governments, and its incredible durability in the face of pressures that have led to the collapse and failure of other states around the world.

In the field of Pakistani Studies, Political Kinship makes an important and timely contribution, rendering visible the complex networks beneath the surface among Pakistan’s elites, both at regional and national level, while raising questions about how power is sustained and the state survives, despite its seeming descent as it lurches from one crisis to the next.

Stephen M. Lyon is professor of anthropology and head of educational programs at Aga Khan University.