As Pakistan's entrenched crisis of constitutional and political order enters a period characterized by the weakening of the democratic system and civilian influence and renewed praetorian ascendancy, Dilawar Hussain's timely and important new book, The Senate of Pakistan and Regional Representation: History, Role, and Parliamentary Performance, sheds new light onto a vital aspect of the country's institutional design. Based upon a wealth of primary and secondary sources, Hussain has painted a compelling and instructive portrait of the Pakistani Senate that will be of use to scholars, commentators and general readers.

Ilhan Niaz, Professor of History, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan

This book is a welcome and thorough analysis of the Senate of Pakistan, one set within a clear conceptual framework. Dilawar Hussain does a splendid job in analysing the role of the Upper House in a federal system, a chamber that is not unusual in its role as a territorial chamber, but it is distinctive for being indirectly elected yet formally co-equal with the National Assembly. He assesses the rationale for its design and its constitutional powers before assessing its effectiveness, both in terms of legislation and of non-legislative policy.

This detailed work adds greatly to our understanding of legislative politics in Pakistan and the role of the second chamber, serving as a major scholarly study and the basis for public discourse.

Philip Norton, Professor of Government, University of Hull, UK

The Senate of Pakistan and Regional Representation is an extremely welcome addition to the literature on Pakistan's federal system. Situating the Senate of Pakistan within the wider comparative literature on second chambers, Hussain conducts a detailed analysis of its operation and functions, taking into account the changes wrought by the Eighteenth Constitutional Amendment.

Katharine Adeney, Professor of Comparative Politics, University of Nottingham, UK