ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
T
his book started out as a project at Columbia University and was completed at Harvard University. Then, as now, Alfred Stepan has been a constant source of warm encouragement and invaluable advice. Jack Snyder and Sheri Berman have been most generous with their time, support, and feedback. I am particularly grateful to Stephen P. Cohen for sharing his intimate knowledge of Pakistan and its army over the years, even though we sometimes disagreed about the nature and limits of military interventions in politics. He also diligently read the entire manuscript and provided detailed comments. Christophe Jaffrelot was also kind enough to read the manuscript, raise provocative questions, and offer many useful suggestions. My wife, Bushra Asif, read several drafts in full and often offered trenchant criticism in the politest way possible. For that, and for her unwavering affection and support, especially during frustrating moments in the process of writing, I am forever thankful. Samina Ahmed, Zoltan Barany, Larry Diamond, J. Samuel Fitch, and Arun Swamy read individual or multiple chapters and with their vast knowledge of both theory and actual countries provided insightful comments. For comments on earlier versions of chapters and papers derived from the book, I want to thank participants at Comparative Politics and other seminars at Columbia, the University of Chicago, Harvard, and Stanford, as well as Timothy Frye, Sumit Ganguly, Andrew Nathan, Philip Oldenburg, Peter Purdue, and Vickie Langohr. I must also acknowledge the assistance and guidance of many serving and retired military officers in Pakistan, without which this book would not have been possible. Some of my interviewees were not comfortable signing a release form given the sensitive nature of the topic. All interviewees consented verbally to
379
