Karachi

Ordered Disorder and the Struggle for the City

Nonfiction, History, Asian, Asia, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Sociology, Urban, Political Science
Cover of the book Karachi by Laurent Gayer, Oxford University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Laurent Gayer ISBN: 9780190238063
Publisher: Oxford University Press Publication: July 1, 2014
Imprint: Oxford University Press Language: English
Author: Laurent Gayer
ISBN: 9780190238063
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Publication: July 1, 2014
Imprint: Oxford University Press
Language: English

With an official population approaching fifteen million, Karachi is one of the largest cities in the world. It is also the most violent. Since the mid-1980s, it has endured endemic political conflict and criminal violence, which revolve around control of the city and its resources (votes, land and bhatta-"protection" money). These struggles for the city have become ethnicized. Karachi, often referred to as a "Pakistan in miniature," has become increasingly fragmented, socially as well as territorially. Despite this chronic state of urban political warfare, Karachi is the cornerstone of the economy of Pakistan. Gayer's book is an attempt to elucidate this conundrum. Against journalistic accounts describing Karachi as chaotic and ungovernable, he argues that there is indeed order of a kind in the city's permanent civil war. Far from being entropic, Karachi's polity is predicated upon organisational, interpretative and pragmatic routines that have made violence "manageable" for its populations. Whether such "ordered disorder" is viable in the long term remains to be seen, but for now Karachi works despite-and sometimes through-violence.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

With an official population approaching fifteen million, Karachi is one of the largest cities in the world. It is also the most violent. Since the mid-1980s, it has endured endemic political conflict and criminal violence, which revolve around control of the city and its resources (votes, land and bhatta-"protection" money). These struggles for the city have become ethnicized. Karachi, often referred to as a "Pakistan in miniature," has become increasingly fragmented, socially as well as territorially. Despite this chronic state of urban political warfare, Karachi is the cornerstone of the economy of Pakistan. Gayer's book is an attempt to elucidate this conundrum. Against journalistic accounts describing Karachi as chaotic and ungovernable, he argues that there is indeed order of a kind in the city's permanent civil war. Far from being entropic, Karachi's polity is predicated upon organisational, interpretative and pragmatic routines that have made violence "manageable" for its populations. Whether such "ordered disorder" is viable in the long term remains to be seen, but for now Karachi works despite-and sometimes through-violence.

More books from Oxford University Press

Cover of the book The Return of the Native by Laurent Gayer
Cover of the book General Principles of Law and International Due Process by Laurent Gayer
Cover of the book Simulating Minds by Laurent Gayer
Cover of the book Embracing Our Mortality by Laurent Gayer
Cover of the book Teaching Buddhism by Laurent Gayer
Cover of the book Brooklyn's Dodgers by Laurent Gayer
Cover of the book After Marriage by Laurent Gayer
Cover of the book Pindar and the Construction of Syracusan Monarchy in the Fifth Century B.C. by Laurent Gayer
Cover of the book Public Health Ethics by Laurent Gayer
Cover of the book Lottery Winner - With Audio Level 1 Oxford Bookworms Library by Laurent Gayer
Cover of the book Teaching Religion and Film by Laurent Gayer
Cover of the book Greeted With Smiles by Laurent Gayer
Cover of the book Moral Reality by Laurent Gayer
Cover of the book Red Roses Starter Level Oxford Bookworms Library by Laurent Gayer
Cover of the book The Canterville Ghost Level 2 Oxford Bookworms Library by Laurent Gayer
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy