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Recently, Pakistan has seen a spike in Islamic militarism that has threatened its stability. The political vacuum left by a violent war with the Soviets and the subsequent collapse of a stable government, has allowed a generation of extremists to be nurtured by the Taliban´s distinct form of Islam. The result has been a region which has helped foster a climate of Islamic extremism that has seeped through Afghanistan´s porous borders into Pakistan´s fragile democracy. While many ideas have been put forward to tackle extremism in the region, they too often rely on short term solutions rather than dealing with the roots of the problem. I will attempt to define the conditions which helped spawn Islamic extremism in the Pakistan and Afghanistan by synthesizing otherwise disparate bodies of knowledge including the rise of the mujahedeen in Afghanistan as well as Pakistan´s democratic and socioeconomic conditions which provided the fertile land needed for Islamic extremism to grow. Ultimately, I hope to develop practical solutions that will stem the increase of Islamic extremism in the region as well as lead to a more stable and secure Pakistan.

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Solomon Stavis was born in California. He received his B.A. from San Francisco State University before going on to Georgetown University where he completed his graduate studies. Solomon currently lives in Washington D.C. and works as an Economic Analyst for the International Monetary Fund.

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