A rock between hard places : Afghanistan as an arena of regional insecurity / Kristian Berg Harpviken, Shahrbanou Tadjbakhsh.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Harpviken, Kristian Berg, author.

Tājbakhsh, Shahrbānū, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

National security--Afghanistan.

National security.

International relations.

Economic conditions.

Afghanistan.

Persian Gulf--Foreign relations--Afghanistan.

Persian Gulf.

Afghanistan--Politics and government--2001-2021.

Politics and government.

Afghanistan--Economic conditions--21st century.

Afghanistan--Foreign relations.

South Asia--Foreign relations--Afghanistan.

South Asia.

Asia, Central--Foreign relations--Afghanistan.

Asia, Central.

Central Asia.

Physical Description:

208 pages ; 22 cm

Place of Publication:

Oxford : New York : Oxford University Press, [2016]

Contents:

1 Introduction 1

Afghanistan in its Region 4

Conceptual Framework 11

Main Argument and Organization 15

2 South Asia and Afghanistan: Projecting the Indo-Pak Conflict 21

The Robust India-Pakistan Conflict 23

A Territorial Dispute 24

Irreconcilable Approaches to Identity 26

Quarrel over Water 27

Domestic Politics and Regional Entanglement 29

Insurgency 29

Influence on Foreign Policy 32

Asymmetric but Enduring Rivalry 34

Global Powers in South Asia 37

The Fluctuating Commitment of the US 38

The Mounting Importance of China 41

Russia-a Convenient, but Distant, Ally 43

Balancing Powers 44

Afghanistan: Arena for Proxy War? 45

Terrain for Strategic Ambitions 46

Ethnic and Religious Affinities at Play 49

Economic Ambitions Projected 51

Enduring South Asian Conflict in Afghanistan 54

3 Central Asia and Afghanistan 57

Central Asian Regional Security Dynamics 58

Mutual Mistrust 60

Competition over Regional Hegemony 61

Skewed Resource Distribution 62

Domestic Sources of Rivalry 63

Looking without when the Enemy is within 64

Split Sub-national Identities 66

Regime Type and Foreign Policy Influence 67

The Cost of Non-cooperation 68

Global Powers in Central Asia 70

Robust Dependence on Russia 72

China's Economic Build-up 74

Shifts and Contradictions in US Policy 77

Multi-vector Foreign Policies 80

Afghanistan-Insulation or Contagion for the Central Asians? 81

The Bilateral Inclination 82

Mutual Distrust and Security Cooperation 86

Hesitant Ethnic Solidarity 88

Untapped Economic Opportunities 90

Will Central Asian Insulation Hold? 93

4 The Persian Gulf and Afghanistan: Iran-Saudi Competition 97

The Iran-Saudi Rivalry 99

Existential Security Concerns 100

The Incompatibility of Identity-based Ideologies 105

Competing Hydrocarbon Economies 109

Domestic Determinants 111

Regime Survival as Common Goal 111

Actors' Influence on Foreign Policy 113

Rapprochement amid Rivalry 114

Global Powers in the Persian Gulf 116

The US Commitment-Deep, but Declining? 117

Russia's Shifting Relations 120

China-Pragmatic Newcomer in Need of Oil 122

Global Penetration and Regional Competition 123

Afghanistan-Rivalry Projected 125

High Security Stakes 127

Collision of Identity-based Ideologies 129

Economic Contest 133

Will the Persian Gulf Rivalry Persist in Afghanistan 135

5 Afghanistan and its Neighborhood: Continuity and Change 139

Re-examining Afghanistan as Connector 140

Core or Periphery? Competing Perspectives on Afghanistan's Neighborly Dilemmas 143

The Future of Afghanistan's Neighborly Relations 148

Afghanistan Looks South-east 149

Afghanistan Looks North 152

Afghanistan Looks West 154

Final Reflections 156.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

0190627239

9780190627232

OCLC:

944380268