Russian-Chinese cooperation and competition in Afghanistan and its implications for Central Asia
Journal Title: Stosunki Międzynarodowe – International Relations - Year 2022, Vol 2, Issue 22
Abstract
Background: This paper aims to explore current and perspective trends of relations between Russia and China in Afghanistan and Central Asia. It also analyzes whether the withdrawal of the U.S. and the subsequent Taliban takeover helped—and continues to help—strengthen the two powers' positions in the region and what kind of challenges and benefits they face. The paper examines the hypothesis that the U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan and the Taliban's return to power added to Russia and China's benefits in the region. Methods: The research uses content analysis regarding official documents, political and military elite speeches, interviews, and reports to explain Russia and China’s official positions and policies regarding Afghanistan and Central Asia. Relations between the two powers as regards Afghanistan and Central Asia are comparatively analyzed. The paper uses the neorealist approach, which is fit for explaining relations between Russia and China in Afghanistan and Central Asia. Results: After the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, regional security is now the business of the regional powers, mainly China and Russia. Now they should bear the responsibilities and share the burdens. There is probably more ground for competition after eliminating the threats in Afghanistan and especially in Central Asia for Moscow and Beijing. However, Russia and China will continue to try to align their interests in Afghanistan and Central Asia, especially if their relations with U.S. remain at the current level or worsen in the coming years. Conclusions: Based on the findings, this paper argues that, on the one hand, Russia and China continue to try to take advantage of the instability in the region by stepping up their security and economic influences in Central Asia. However, their stabilizing efforts in Afghanistan following the withdrawal of the U.S., ironically may increase competition between China and Russia.
Authors and Affiliations
Nurlan Aliyev
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP711016
- DOI 10.12688/stomiedintrelat.17587.1
- Views 53
- Downloads 1
The fog of enlargement and the agony of accession: the European Union and Serbia in the light of a reform document
The 2009 public debt crisis onset triggered a fundamental constitutional transformation of the European Union (EU). What is the link between this transformation and the enlargement policy? The authors of the article seek...
Improving national strategic foresight with the use of forecasting tournaments and its implications for the study of international relations
Improving national strategic foresight can help the formation of more robust and informed policies, including foreign policy. Predicated upon the theory behind peer-prediction elicitation methods such as Reciprocal Scori...
The changing dynamics of the political economy in South and Southeast Asia and their impact on the security of ethno-religious minorities: a case study of Bangladesh and Myanmar
At the geographical confluence of South and mainland Southeast Asia, connecting three economically vibrant regions of South Asia, Southeast Asia and East Asia, are located two asymmetric neighbours, the predominantly Bud...
The idea of a fragile state: Emergence, conceptualization, and application in international political practice
This paper studies the concept of a ‘fragile state,’ its origins, uniqueness, and the circumstances determining the changing dynamics of the presented subject, as well as the possibility of its application in the practic...
The shape of the international order: the case study of AUKUS
This article argues that in the 21st century, international order has not only become unstable but also short-term in nature and issue-based, which has led to the emergence of a number of alliances whose functionality ca...