Strategic Recalibration Under Pressure: Pakistan’s Foreign Policy Response to U.S. Sanctions (1998–2008)

Author

Muhammad Uzair Ul Islam, SSLA Class of 2025Follow

Degree

BS (Social Sciences & Liberal Arts)

Faculty / School

School of Economics and Social Sciences (SESS)

Department

Department of Social Sciences & Liberal Arts

Date of Award

Spring 2025

Date of Submission

2025-07-30

Advisor

Sajjad Ahmad

Committee

Aliya Iqbal Naqvi

Project Type

SSLA Culminating Experience

Access Type

Restricted Access

Keywords

Neoclassical Realism, Strategic Hedging, South Asia.

Abstract

The paper explores the recalibration of Pakistan’s foreign policy in the aftermath of sanctions imposed by the United States following the 1998 nuclear tests. It situates the diplomatic shift in the context of geopolitical changes that occurred in the South Asia region after the end of Cold war era. The thesis holds that sanctions were not merely measures to punish but rather acted as a catalyst compelling Pakistan to reshape its foreign policy, balancing its ties with western and non-western allies.

The study uses neo-classical framework to understand how internal and external factors played a role in shaping the foreign policy during the period 1998 to 2008. It employs a qualitative, historical case study by utilizing primary sources, such as official documents and UN documents, and secondary literature, such as scholarly work and policy papers to assess the shift in diplomatic orientation.

The study is relevant to understand how external factors, such as sanctions, interact with internal factors, such as economic vulnerabilities, to produce an unexpected outcome. This study delves deeper into both the academic and scholarly perspectives on sanctions, and their unintended consequences, and policy discussions on Pakistan's shifting role in regional and international political evolutions. Based on a critical analysis of Pakistan's strategic realignment, the study fills a significant gap in the literature on its foreign policy trajectory after 1998 and its long term consequences to U.S.-Pakistan relations.

Pages

81

Recommended Citation

Uzair Ul Islam, M. (2025). Strategic Recalibration Under Pressure: Pakistan’s Foreign Policy Response to U.S. Sanctions (1998–2008) (Unpublished undergraduate project). Institute of Business Administration, Pakistan. Retrieved from https://ir.iba.edu.pk/sslace/390