Pakistan: A Hard Country

Superb ... Few writers offer the insight and deep knowledge that Lieven has of a country critical for the West but one often caricatured by the media and rarely understood by Western policy makers ... Timely and compelling

This is a wonderful book, full of learning, wisdom, humour and common sense

One cannot give Lieven enough credit  ...  The book seamlessly flows with historical analysis, anthropological investigation, and painstaking contextualisation ... It is both grand in its scholastic description and in its journalistic flair

A finely researched blend of the nation's 64-year history ... Lieven's feat lies in his remarkable, flesh-and-blood portrait of the nation ... this nuanced analysis should be read, and learned from

By far the most insightful survey of Pakistan I have read in recent years ... a vital book ... detailed and nuanced

Lieven captures the richness of the place wonderfully.  His book has the virtues of both journalism and scholarship

An important corrective to the monolithic view of Pakistan ... fresh and deeply informed

A brilliantly articulated and researched argument ... Lieven is a wonderful writer. There are frequent moments of dark humour ... and descriptions that a novelist might envy

Everybody nowadays seems to take a view on Pakistan. Very few know what they're talking about. Anatol Lieven is that rare observer ... Pakistan: A Hard Country ... fills a large gap in our understanding

Edward Luce, author of 'In Spite of the Gods: The Strange Rise of Modern India'

The publication of Pakistan: A Hard Country could not be more timely ... illuminating as well as entertaining

With patience and determination, Lieven observes and records all aspects of the curiosity otherwise known as Pakistan ... A sweeping and insightful narrative

Anatol Lieven is Professor of International Relations and Terrorism Studies at King's College, London and a senior fellow of the New America Foundation in Washington DC. He was previously a journalist, who reported from South Asia, the former Soviet Union and eastern Europe for The Times (London) and other publications. His books include Chechnya: Tombstone of Russian Power (1998); America Right or Wrong: An Anatomy of American Nationalism (2004); and Ethical Realism: A Vision for America's Role in the World (with John Hulsman) (2006).

DAILY TELEGRAPH and INDEPENDENT BOOKS OF THE YEAR 
 
LONGLISTED FOR THE ORWELL PRIZE 2012 
 
2011 LOS ANGELES TIMES BOOK PRIZE FINALIST 
 
In the wake of Pakistan's development of nuclear weapons, unpoliceable border areas, shelter of the Afghan Taliban and Bin Laden, and the spread of terrorist attacks by groups based in Pakistan to London, Bombay and New York, there is a clear need to look further than the simple image of a failed state so often portrayed in the media, and to see instead a country of immense complexity and importance. 
 
Lieven's profound and sophisticated analysis paves the way for clearer understanding of this remarkable and highly contradictory country.

Anatol Lieven

Provocative, original and thought-provoking ... Lieven argues convincingly that there is no inevitable link between nationalism and climate denialism.

Striking ... The climate crisis is a test of our character. And Lieven does not like what it reveals. His book offers a blueprint for an epochal social and political transformation.

Lieven believes we must start again - or, rather, return to older foundations in the face of this primal threat to our planet's future. We need, he argues, a new nationalism ... We should heed Lieven's call to action.

Lieven maps out a response to the environmental crisis that draws on both the radical social democracy of Bernie Sanders' Green New Deal and the burgeoning "eco-nationalism" of Europe's reactionary populists ... There's no denying the prescience of Lieven's analysis ... Lieven offers a sobering account of the climate crisis, how dramatically it is going to reshape human life, and how quickly that transformation is likely to take effect.

Convincing ... Lieven weaves his first-hand knowledge and experience into a compelling narrative ... He makes a strong case for urgent action, especially by powerful states.

This is one of those rare books that have something really important to say. Anatol Lieven, one of the most original and independent-minded foreign policy thinkers, is telling his fellow realists that at this moment the world's great powers are far more threatened by climate change than they are by each other.

Ivan Krastev, author of The Light That Failed

Passivity in the face of climate change is the fatalism of our age. Anatol Lieven's book offers a bracing riposte to those who believe only world government can solve global warming. Lieven makes a brilliant case that the nation state has to be the chief vehicle to confront humanity's surpassing crisis. Lieven is utterly persuasive about this challenge - above all the importance of our not allowing the perfect to be the enemy of the good. If you read one book on global warming, this should be it.

Edward Luce, author of The Retreat of Western Liberalism

Thus far, the global response to climate change emphasises talk rather than effective action. Lieven fills this strategic void by insisting that enlightened civic nationalism alone can stem this threat. Only the nation state can constrain corporate capitalism from further harming the environment. Only the nation state can motivate citizens to make the sacrifices needed to curb the mounting damage. This is a bold, original, gutsy, and absolutely essential book.

Andrew J. Bacevich, author of The Age of Illusions

This book is a clarion call for a renewed civic nationalism focused on the preservation of the environment and the arresting of climate change as vital aspects of a shared national and international good-one that true patriots of any country ought to place at the front and center of their political agenda. Lieven makes a compelling case for contesting the intolerant and anti-scientific far right's would-be monopoly on the language, imagery, and emotions of nationalism.

Aviel Roshwald, Professor of History, Georgetown University

Climate activists have yet to devise a successful political strategy for dramatically reducing the pace of warming. In his brilliant new book, Lieven argues that 'civic nationalism,' combining loyalty to the nation and public sacrifice, is the only strategy with a chance at success. While not everyone may agree with his conclusions, it is impossible to escape the hard logic of his reasoning.

Michael Klare, author of All Hell Breaking Loose

The Realist Case

Anatol Lieven's major new book provides the frame that has long been needed to understand how we should react to climate change. This is a vast challenge, but we have often in the past had to deal with such challenges: the industrial revolution, major wars and mass migration have seen mobilizations of human energy on the greatest scale. Just as previous generations had to face the unwanted and unpalatable, so do we. 
 
In a series of incisive, compelling interventions, Lieven shows how in this emergency our crucial building block is the nation state. The drastic action required both to change our habits and protect ourselves can be carried out not through some vague globalism but through maintaining social cohesion and through our current governmental, fiscal and military structures. 
 
This is a book which will provoke innumerable discussions.

Anatol Lieven

Praise for Climate Change and the Nation State

Provocative, original and thought-provoking ... Lieven argues convincingly that there is no inevitable link between nationalism and climate denialism.

Striking ... The climate crisis is a test of our character. And Lieven does not like what it reveals. His book offers a blueprint for an epochal social and political transformation.

Lieven believes we must start again - or, rather, return to older foundations in the face of this primal threat to our planet's future. We need, he argues, a new nationalism ... We should heed Lieven's call to ac ...

Provocative, original and thought-provoking ... Lieven argues convincingly that there is no inevitable link between nationalism and climate denialism.

Striking ... The climate crisis is a test of our character. And Lieven does not like what it reveals. His book offers a blueprint for an epochal social and political transformation.

Lieven believes we must start again - or, rather, return to older foundations in the face of this primal threat to our planet's future. We need, he argues, a new nationalism ... We should heed Lieven's call to ac ...

Provocative, original and thought-provoking ... Lieven argues convincingly that there is no inevitable link between nationalism and climate denialism.

Striking ... The climate crisis is a test of our character. And Lieven does not like what it reveals. His book offers a blueprint for an epochal social and political transformation.

Lieven believes we must start again - or, rather, return to older foundations in the face of this primal threat to our planet's future. We need, he argues, a new nationalism ... We should heed Lieven's call to ac ...

Books by Anatol Lieven

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