Regional Security Issues

Afghanistan is situated in a region marked by a range of conflicts and where the interests of nations, religious and military groups, drug mafia etc. might run counter to the peacebuilding process. The Kashmir conflict between India and Pakistan has certainly held an influence on their positions on Afghanistan as well. Militant separatists from the former Soviet republics and China operating out of Afghan territory is another concern. Afghan history has furthermore generated a range of until now unsolved border issues, like the disagreement on the Durrani line drawing up the border with Pakistan, and the use of water from rivers flowing into Iran, like the Helmand river.

While Afghanistan has signed a Friendly Neighbourhood Agreement with neighbouring countries there is no formal body in which these countries can meet to address regional issues.

Link:

Bishkek Conference for Afghanistan's Regional Economic Cooperation: Central Asia, Iran and Pakistan
http://arec.undp.kg/en/

Publications:

2004

Michael Bhatia, Kevin Lanigan & Philip Wilkinson (AREU Briefing Paper June 2004)
Minimal Investments, Minimal Results: The Failure of Security Policy in Afghanistan
http://www.areu.org.af
/publications/Security%20Brief/AREU%20Security%20Brief%20FINAL.pdf

Mark Sedra
Are the Taliban Really “Gone”?
http://www.fpif.org/papers/2004taliban.html

Arne Strand, Kristian Berg Harpviken, Astri Suhrke
Afghanistan. Peacebuilding in a regional perspective
http://www.cmi.no/publications/publication.cfm?pubid=1788

2001

International Crisis Group (Asia Report No. 26, 2001)
Afghanistan and Central Asia: Priorities for Reconstruction and Development
http://www.crisisweb.org/home/index.cfm?id=1431

Barnett R. Rubin, Ashraf Ghani, William Maley, Ahmed Rashid, Olivier Roy (Koff Report, 2001)
Afghanistan: Reconstruction and Peacebuilding in a Regional Framework