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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.

"This book explores buffer states' agency beyond being highly interactive spaces for the competing strategic and security interests of larger powers. Analysing twenty-one political events the author offers a new conceptual framework for the buffer state, which emphasizes strategic utility and agency of the buffer state. Applying this to the case study of Nepal as a buffer state between India and China, he offers a systematic analysis of Sino-Indian interests in the wider region, and Nepal's interactions with and reactions to them, and argues that the buffer state in contemporary International Relations is characterized by intense competitive overtures from its contending neighboring states. However, it is not just a spectator but an active participant that consistently assesses and reassesses its geopolitical position in between much larger competing powers. This reading offers a new understanding of the buffer state as a highly dynamic political space wherein the levels of influence and strategies of bigger powers can be examined. Aimed at a multidisciplinary audience, this book will be of particular interest to scholars, practitioners and students of international relations, security studies, strategic studies, and Asian Studies"--