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Abstract
Pakistan-China friendship has nothing in common in terms of history, language, ethnicity, culture or ideology, yet their nexus is being considered as deeply rooted and time-tested which has developed into a comprehensive strategic partnership. Pakistan-China partnership has remained sustained and unaffected during changes of leadership, political system and variations in regional and international politics. Both states have developed an ideal state-to-state relationship based on complete trust. They have been steadfast friends who have supported each other through thick and thin. The hallmark of these bilateral ties is that both states, existing under an anarchic order, framed their partnership in accordance with neo-realism, with the objective of achieving maximum advantage to assure their security interests. Their multi-dimensional cooperation, having wide-ranging connotations, is based on the principle of respect and equality. This article explores how Pakistan and China have been securing their self-interests through their bilateral partnership.
Anarchic order
The neo-realist theory is also labeled as structural realism. A few writers from neo-realist school of thought occasionally denote their theories as realist to underline the connection between their personal and older opinions. However, there are numerous basic dissimilarities between realism and neo-realism, which is not the main point to prove here.
Neo-realism was first articulated by Kenneth N. Waltz in his famous book, 'Theory of International Politics' in 1979. According to neo-realist the arrangement and structure of the international system is anarchic in nature. While anarchy does not indicate the presence of chaos and disorder, but it chiefly highlights and refer to the existence of an international order or government.1 States are unitary actors who want just to sustain, and state is the basic units of systems.2 With no predominant universal power that delivers and assures the security and stability in international politics, the global system is thus explained in terms of an anarchic international structure. An anarchic structure has two main effects: Primarily, every actor in the global system is responsible for taking care of itself and then, states continuously feel threatened by a potential attack from the other states.3 'Rendering to this opinion, the relationship between states are influenced by the structure under which states interact with each other'.4 The development of exceptional relations between Pakistan and China 'is best evaluated in a...