- The Journal of Political Science, Vol # 42, Issue # 2
- MAKING SENSE OF PAKISTAN’S ‘PERMANENT STATE OF EMERGENCY’ THROUGH CHANAKYA’S REALPOLITIK: INSIGHTS FROM ARTHASHASTRA AND KAUTILYAN SPY STATE DYNAMICS
MAKING SENSE OF PAKISTAN’S ‘PERMANENT STATE OF EMERGENCY’ THROUGH CHANAKYA’S REALPOLITIK: INSIGHTS FROM ARTHASHASTRA AND KAUTILYAN SPY STATE DYNAMICS
- Fahad Abdullah/
- September 09, 2025
Keywords
Pakistan has been in a permanent state of emergency since partition and its citizenship is devalued. This paper aims to explain this condition by exploring the enduring controversy between state morality and private morality from the dynamics of the Kautilyan spy state. To explore the complex relationships and tensions between political or state morality and private morality, first, this paper describes the hypothetical Kautilyan State and highlights its key elements through the Saptanga theory of the state. Then by sketching out the Kautilyan characteristics of a spy state, it relates it to modern statecraft practices, arguably immoral, with a focused analysis of Pakistan. Concluding this investigation, through qualitative content analysis and documentary analysis the paper argues that the inherent nature of the states is intensely determined by realpolitik as outlined in the Kautilyan spy state which generates profound challenges for the pertinency of the modern constitutional protections of the private morality—referred as the fundamental rights of the citizens. It contends in conclusion that this disputation between realpolitik (state morality) and constitutionalism (private morality) explains the permanent state of emergency that Pakistan has been in since partition.
Keywords: Kautilya, Arthashastra, Spy State, Realpolitik, State Immoralism, Constitutionalism, Citizenship, Rūjadharma, Saptanga Theory Of State
How to cite
Abdullah, F. (2025). MAKING SENSE OF PAKISTAN’S ‘PERMANENT STATE OF EMERGENCY’ THROUGH CHANAKYA’S REALPOLITIK: INSIGHTS FROM ARTHASHASTRA AND KAUTILYAN SPY STATE DYNAMICS. The Journal of Political Science, 42(2). http://jps.gcu.edu.pk/website/journal/article/68c002b8d9914/page
Retrieved from http://jps.gcu.edu.pk/website/journal/article/68c002b8d9914/page
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- ACM SIG Proceedings
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[1]Abdullah, F. 2025. MAKING SENSE OF PAKISTAN’S ‘PERMANENT STATE OF EMERGENCY’ THROUGH CHANAKYA’S REALPOLITIK: INSIGHTS FROM ARTHASHASTRA AND KAUTILYAN SPY STATE DYNAMICS. The Journal of Political Science. 42, 2 (Sept. 2025).
- ACS Nano
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(1)Abdullah, F. MAKING SENSE OF PAKISTAN’S ‘PERMANENT STATE OF EMERGENCY’ THROUGH CHANAKYA’S REALPOLITIK: INSIGHTS FROM ARTHASHASTRA AND KAUTILYAN SPY STATE DYNAMICS. The Journal of Political Science 2025, 42 (2).
- ABNT
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ABDULLAH, Fahad. MAKING SENSE OF PAKISTAN’S ‘PERMANENT STATE OF EMERGENCY’ THROUGH CHANAKYA’S REALPOLITIK: INSIGHTS FROM ARTHASHASTRA AND KAUTILYAN SPY STATE DYNAMICS. The Journal of Political Science, v. 42, n. 2, 9 Sept.2025.
- Chicago (author-date)
- Harvard (Cite Them Right)
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Abdullah, F. (2025) “MAKING SENSE OF PAKISTAN’S ‘PERMANENT STATE OF EMERGENCY’ THROUGH CHANAKYA’S REALPOLITIK: INSIGHTS FROM ARTHASHASTRA AND KAUTILYAN SPY STATE DYNAMICS”, The Journal of Political Science, 42(2). Available at: http://jps.gcu.edu.pk/website/journal/article/68c002b8d9914/page (Accessed: 17 October 2026).
- IEEE
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[1]F. Abdullah, “MAKING SENSE OF PAKISTAN’S ‘PERMANENT STATE OF EMERGENCY’ THROUGH CHANAKYA’S REALPOLITIK: INSIGHTS FROM ARTHASHASTRA AND KAUTILYAN SPY STATE DYNAMICS”, The Journal of Political Science, vol. 42, no. 2, Sept. 2025, Accessed: Oct. 17, 2026. [Online]. Available: http://jps.gcu.edu.pk/website/journal/article/68c002b8d9914/page
- MLA
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Abdullah, Fahad. “MAKING SENSE OF PAKISTAN’S ‘PERMANENT STATE OF EMERGENCY’ THROUGH CHANAKYA’S REALPOLITIK: INSIGHTS FROM ARTHASHASTRA AND KAUTILYAN SPY STATE DYNAMICS”. The Journal of Political Science, vols. 42, nos. 2, Sept. 2025, http://jps.gcu.edu.pk/website/journal/article/68c002b8d9914/page.
- Turabian (full note bibliography)
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Abdullah, Fahad. “MAKING SENSE OF PAKISTAN’S ‘PERMANENT STATE OF EMERGENCY’ THROUGH CHANAKYA’S REALPOLITIK: INSIGHTS FROM ARTHASHASTRA AND KAUTILYAN SPY STATE DYNAMICS”. The Journal of Political Science 42, no. 2 (September 9, 2025). Accessed October 17, 2026. http://jps.gcu.edu.pk/website/journal/article/68c002b8d9914/page.
- Vancouver
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1.Abdullah F. MAKING SENSE OF PAKISTAN’S ‘PERMANENT STATE OF EMERGENCY’ THROUGH CHANAKYA’S REALPOLITIK: INSIGHTS FROM ARTHASHASTRA AND KAUTILYAN SPY STATE DYNAMICS. The Journal of Political Science [Internet]. 2025 Sept. 9 [cited 2026 Oct. 17];42(2). Available from: http://jps.gcu.edu.pk/website/journal/article/68c002b8d9914/page
- AMA
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1.Abdullah F. MAKING SENSE OF PAKISTAN’S ‘PERMANENT STATE OF EMERGENCY’ THROUGH CHANAKYA’S REALPOLITIK: INSIGHTS FROM ARTHASHASTRA AND KAUTILYAN SPY STATE DYNAMICS. The Journal of Political Science. 2025;42(2). Accessed October 17, 2026. http://jps.gcu.edu.pk/website/journal/article/68c002b8d9914/page
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Author(s):
Fahad Abdullah
AuthorMr. Fahad Abdullah is a Visiting Lecturer, Forman Christian College (A Chartered University), Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. He can be reached at: fahadabdullah@fccollege.edu.pk
Pakistan
- fahadabdullah@fccollege.edu.pk
Details:
| Type: | Article |
| Volume: | 42 |
| Issue: | 2 |
| Language: | English |
| Id: | 68c002b8d9914 |
| Published | September 09, 2025 |
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Copyrights
| Department of Political Science, Government College University Lahore |
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.