Publication

This report focuses on the inroads extremist narratives have made in Pakistani society. The author argues that Islamist extremists of various types have largely succeeded in painting their worldview as being analogous to Pakistan’s self-image. Their success in framing the narrative makes extremism in Pakistan a unique challenge. Reversing this success and preventing extremists from destabilizing Pakistan and threatening the international community requires engagement with the narratives that shape Pakistanis’ views of their country and their country’s place on the world stage. The author concludes that strategic communications efforts against extremism need to move away from crafting the “right” message from the practitioners’ point of view and move toward focusing on emotionally engaging the audience.