Dr. Shahzad Akhtar
Associate Professor
shahzad.akhtar@ucp.edu.pk
Ext: 7841
Ext: 7841
Dr. Shahzad Akhtar is an Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science and International Relations at the University of Central Punjab, Lahore. His teaching and research focus primarily on conflict studies, including civil war, insurgency, terrorism, and counterterrorism. He holds an MA and PhD in Politics and International Relations from the University of Auckland, New Zealand. Dr. Akhtar has published extensively in esteemed international peer-reviewed journals such as Asian Survey, Third World Quarterly, and Dynamics of Asymmetric Conflict: Pathways to Terrorism and Genocide. His recent book, The Rise and Decline of the Insurgency in Pakistan’s FATA, is published by Routledge in 2023.
| PhD | Politics and International Relations | University of Auckland, New Zealand | 2011-2016 |
| MS | Politics and International Relations | University of Auckland, New Zealand | 2009-2011 |
| MPhil | American Studies | Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad | 2003-2006 |
| MSc | Defense and Strategic Studies | Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad | 2000-2002 |
| BA | - | University of the Punjab, Lahore | 1997-1999 |
| Associate Professor | University of Central Punjab, Lahore | 2024-till now |
| Associate Professor | University of Lahore, Lahore | 2023-2024 |
| Assistant Professor | University of Lahore, Lahore | 2018-2023 |
| Assistant Professor | Iqra University, Islamabad | 2017-2018 |
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Book
- Akhtar, Shahzad. The Rise and Decline of the Insurgency in Pakistan’s FATA. New York; UK, Routledge, 2023.
Book Chapters
- Akhtar, Shahzad. “Fighting for the FATA: Military Action and Governance in the Tribal Areas of Pakistan.” In Perspectives on Contemporary Pakistan: Governance, Development and Environment, edited by Ghulam Ali and Ejaz Hussain. New York; UK, Routledge, 2020.
- Akhtar, Shahzad and Ali, “Indian Factor in Pakistan’s Policy towards Afghanistan.” In Pakistan’s Foreign Policy: Contemporary Developments and Dynamics, edited by Ghulam Ali. New York; UK, Routledge, 2022.
Journal Articles
- Akhtar, Shahzad, and Zahid Shahab Ahmed. 2023. “Understanding the Resurgence of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan.” Dynamics of Asymmetric Conflict 16 (3): 285–306. doi:10.1080/17467586.2023.2280924.
- Akhtar, Shahzad. 2019. “Decline of Insurgency in Pakistan’s FATA: A Counterinsurgency Perspective,” Asian Survey 59 (4): 693–716. https://doi.org/10.1525/as.2019.59.4.693
- Wilson, Chris and Shahzad Akhtar. 2019. “Repression, Co-optation and Insurgency: Pakistan’s FATA, Southern Thailand and Papua, Indonesia,” Third World Quarterly 40 (4): 710-726. https://doi.org/10.1080/01436597.2018.1557012