In Political Kinship in Pakistan, Stephen M. Lyon illustrates how contemporary politics in Pakistan are built on complex kinship networks created through marriage and descent relations. Lyon points to kinship as a critical mechanism for understanding both Pakistan's continued inability to develop strong and stable governments, and its incredible durability in the face of pressures that have led to the collapse and failure of other states around the world.

South Asian politics have long been characterized as dynastic, but Steve Lyon contends that this overly simplifies the extent to which dynasties depend on the support of distinct, self-interested lineage groups. In Political Kinship in Pakistan, Lyon illustrates how contemporary politics in Pakistan are built on complex kinship networks created through marriage and descent relations. The relative fragility of the Pakistani state has long begged the question of how it can continue to function in the face of radical shocks. Lyon points to kinship as a critical mechanism for understanding both Pakistan’s continued inability to develop strong and stable governments, and its incredible durability in the face of pressures that have led to the collapse and failure of other states around the world.