Aufsatz(gedruckt)#11997
AFGHANISTAN: THE GEOPOLITICS OF A BUFFER STATE
In: Geopolitics and international boundaries, Band 2, Heft 1, S. 82-96
ISSN: 1362-9379
AFGHANISTAN IS LAND-LOCKED. IT HAS POLITICALLY ACTED AS A BUFFER ZONE BETWEEN RUSSIA IN THE NORTH AND THE CONTIGUOUS POWERS OF THE INDIAN SUBCONTINENT, IRAN AND THE PERSIAN GULF. THIS PAPER EXAMINES THE BACKGROUND TO THE NATURE OF AFGHANISTAN AS A LAND-LOCKED STATE AND ITS ROLE AS A BUFFER IN THE SO-CALLED "GREAT GAME" OF INTERNATIONAL GEOPOLITICS. THE HYPOTHESIS UNDER REVIEW IS THAT AFGHANISTAN REPRESENTS A MOUNTAIN FORTRESS, VIRTUALLY A RESIDUE OF TRIBAL TERRITORIES AND GEOGRAPHICAL FASTNESSES, WHICH THE RUSSIANS, PERSIANS AND BRITISH IN INDIA WERE NEVER ABLE TO CONTROL.
