Afghanistan amid Rival Geopolitics: India-Pakistan Shadow Games under Great Power Competition

The book examines the current geopolitical tussle in Afghanistan among different non-regional and regional players over control and manipulation of the region after the 9/11 period.Drawing on the conceptual framework of the unintended consequences approach, it reconceptualizes the concept and trope of the Great Game through the proxy war between Pakistan and India in Afghanistan under the Great Power competition, following the USA's shift towards India in its ‘war on terror.' It examines Afghanistan’s history retrospectively and prospectively, the role of the United States in this Grand Great Game of changing geopolitical and security dynamics post-9/11, India's foreign relations and its soft power engagement in Afghanistan, the implications of the Indo-Afghanistan relations, and the way forward for Pakistan and available policy options while living in a fractured neighborhood.A key intervention in South Asian geopolitics, this book will be indispensable for scholars of international r