Al Jazeera English May 7, 2025
If local media largely follows the state’s preferred narratives in both India and Pakistan, which it does, the state can easily control public perception to its advantage and rally..."
Madiha Afzal is a fellow in the Foreign Policy program at Brookings. She was previously the David M. Rubenstein Fellow in the Foreign Policy program. Afzal is a widely cited expert on the U.S.-Pakistan relationship, Pakistan’s politics and policy, U.S. policy toward Afghanistan, and extremism in South Asia and beyond. She is also an adjunct professor at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, and has taught at Johns Hopkins SAIS. Prior to joining Brookings, Afzal was an assistant professor of public policy at the University of Maryland, College Park.
Afzal is the author of “Pakistan Under Siege: Extremism, Society, and the State” (Brookings Institution Press, 2018). In addition to journal articles, book chapters, and policy reports, her writing has been published in the New York Times, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, the Washington Post, and many other outlets. She is regularly interviewed by media outlets including the New York Times, the Economist, the Washington Post, CNN, BBC, NPR, the Financial Times, PBS, and many others. Afzal has consulted for international organizations including the World Bank and UK’s Department for International Development. For her writing on education in Pakistan, she was named to Lo Spazio della Politica’s list of “Top 100 Global Thinkers of 2013.”
Afzal received her doctorate in economics from Yale University, specializing in development economics and political economy.
Affiliations:
- Center for Economic Research in Pakistan (CERP), fellow
- Institute for Economic and Development Alternatives, Pakistan (IDEAS), fellow
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Current Positions
- Adjunct Professor, Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University
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Past Positions
- David M. Rubenstein Fellow, Foreign Policy Program, The Brookings Institution
- Visiting Fellow, Foreign Policy Program, Global Economy and Development Program, The Brookings Institution
- Assistant Professor, School of Public Policy, University of Maryland
- Nonresident Fellow, The Brookings Institution
- Consultant, The World Bank
- Research Fellow, Center for International and Security Studies at Maryland
- Adjunct Professor, School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), Johns Hopkins University
- Visiting Research Fellow, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)
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Education
- Ph.D., Economics, Yale University
- M.Phil., Economics, Yale University
- M.A., Economics, Yale University
- B.Sc. (Honors), Economics, Lahore University of Management Sciences
Media and Appearances
The Times May 7, 2025
It’s hard to imagine an easy off-ramp now for these [India and Pakistan] two nuclear-armed nations. They’ve entered extremely dangerous territory yet again.
Deutsche Welle April 24, 2025
The punitive actions by India, in particular the suspension of the Indus Water Treaty, are significant. It shows just how precarious the relationship between the two countries has been..."
Deutsche Welle February 7, 2025
A year after a marred election, the civilian coalition government, in partnership with the military, has consolidated control over the country … Of course, it has come at quite a bit of..."
Financial Times January 27, 2025
[The military has come to believe] that it alone can fix Pakistan, that it alone can guarantee the political stability needed for economic progress and can ensure that the economic ship..."
September 12, 2024
[To] deal with the Baloch insurgency, ultimately the state [of Pakistan] needs to thoroughly reckon with the root causes of that insurgency and with decades of grievance in Balochistan.
The Washington Times August 15, 2024
Because the withdrawal from Afghanistan was associated so closely personally with President Biden, we don’t have a good sense of VP Harris’ own views on it — and that is precisely why I..."
Financial Times August 11, 2024
[Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s party] believes its survival depends on the [Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party’s] failure …. It has focused all its energies on repressing PTI, and hoping..."
Bloomberg July 6, 2024
The [People’s Pakistan] party has been created out of frustration with the two major dynastic parties in Pakistan’s politics.
Deutsche Welle July 1, 2024
The timing of [Pakistan’s] new counter terror operation reflects a few factors: Pakistan having reached the end of its options when it comes to talks with the [Tehreek-e-Taliban..."
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