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Author T.V. Paul Talks About 'The Warrior State: Pakistan in the Contemporary World'

Samantha Ortega for KUT News

In the 1960s, Pres. Lyndon Baines Johnson signed a major change in immigration rules into law. Eliminating per country quotas, the move made it easier for immigrants with professional experience and education to come to the Unites States.

From that moment forward, Pakistanis began coming to the U.S. in waves.

Dallas and Houston are now top destinations for Pakistani immigrants. In both cities, Pakistanis have high rates of working in elite positions – a contrast to opportunities available to those remaining in Pakistan today.

Dr. T.V. Paul, a professor of international relations at Montreal’s McGill University, says this isn't because Pakistan is a failed nation.

In his new book "The Warrior State: Pakistan and the Contemporary World," Paul describes a warrior state as one that gives priority to national security over other critical interests. "It ignores other elements of national wellbeing, such as trade, such as welfare, and as a result, it diverts enormous energy to the enterprise of security,” he says. 

Paul's book looks at 25 years of history in the region. "It's a big-picture book," he says, "trying to explain the puzzle of why Pakistan has not become strong despite this enormous focus on national security, unlike the European states or the East Asian states, like Korea or Taiwan."

Hear Texas Standard host David Brown ask Dr. T.V. Paul about Pakistan's geopolitical struggle and how he thinks the nation can become a stronger, more humane and tolerant state.

David entered radio journalism thanks to a love of storytelling, an obsession with news, and a desire to keep his hair long and play in rock bands. An inveterate political junkie with a passion for pop culture and the romance of radio, David has reported from bases in Washington, London, Los Angeles, and Boston for Monitor Radio and for NPR, and has anchored in-depth public radio documentaries from India, Brazil, and points across the United States and Europe. He is, perhaps, known most widely for his work as host of public radio's Marketplace. Fulfilling a lifelong dream of moving to Texas full-time in 2005, Brown joined the staff of KUT, launching the award-winning cultural journalism unit "Texas Music Matters."
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