I was published in the January–February 2008 issue of Liberty Magazine with a reflection titled “Cycles of Outrage.”

In the piece, I examine the Western demand for democracy in Pakistan alongside the unspoken preference for Pervez Musharraf, whose military government appeared better able to maintain order and keep the country’s nuclear weapons secure.

I question the assumption that the Pakistani lawyers protesting against Musharraf were necessarily fighting for liberty. I argue that their democratic language concealed another struggle for power and that, after experiencing the corruption and disorder of elected government, Pakistanis would eventually demand the military’s return—as they had repeatedly done since independence.

The reflection appeared on pages 13–14 of the January–February 2008 print issue.

Read “Cycles of Outrage” in the January–February 2008 issue of Liberty Magazine (PDF) →