Regional Security Cooperation in Afghanistan: Analyzing the Challenge and Opportunities of the Heart of Asia Process

Abstract

With the planned withdrawal of international troops from Afghanistan by 2014, the country’s security is an avoidable question. For many analysts regional approach and regional solution is a good alternative to fulfill the gap of intentional troops after the withdrawal or drawdown of troops in Afghanistan. But despite, with the Obama administration, support of regional approach and solution by the United States, regional security cooperation faces serious challenges in Afghanistan. This paper looks to challenges and opportunities of regional security cooperation for securing the country mainly within Central Asia and South Asia regions. Based on Regional Peace and Security Theory, there have been many peace and security actors that could improve the country’s security but they were largely ignored. Looking from this perspective shows why and how the US strategies and efforts for securing Afghanistan have failed. In short, the US and its allies have only used military (security actors) and have largely ignored regional organizations, civil societies and regional players. But since 2011, there has been at least a regional process which tries to address and solve Afghanistan’s problem with regional approach. The Heart of Asia Process (HAP) has been launched in Istanbul and is being supported by almost all Afghanistan surrounding immediate and far neighbors. But obviously the regional approach will have its own challenges to success. To understand those challenges and to explain why regional cooperation did not happen in last decade, the paper use Regional Security Complex Theory of Buzan and follows and provides a range explanations and reasons; Afghanistan historically has been a buffer state and insulator to its surrounding states; regional rivalries and hospitalities has prevented any handful cooperation in the regions; weak states, internal tensions and none-state actors are other important impediments of regional cooperation. Despite these challenges, there are many potential for regional cooperation and the HAP as well. Geopolitically Afghanistan is the connecting point of two regions and can play a vital role for energy transformation. Central Asia –South Asia electricity project (CASA1000), New Silk Road, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India (TAPI) gas pipeline and North Distribution Network (NDN) are the main opportunities that regional cooperation will provide. But for realizing these projects Afghanistan needs to go a long way of overcoming the challenges which seems is not going to happen in near future.