Chapter III: Afghanistan in the Regional Security Interplay Context
As it has for centuries, Afghanistan, based on its location, sits at the intersection of many competing regional and international security agendas. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the geostrategic security interplay between the British and Russian Empires provided the backdrop against which regional and international states and entities competed for Afghan land and favor. During the latter half of the 20th century, Afghanistan found itself in the middle of one of the many actively competitive regions in the Cold War rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union. Since 2001, Afghanistan has again been center stage for a global security competition dominated by the need to combat the scourge of international terrorism linked to the numerous Muslim Salafi-jihadist groups and actors found within Afghanistan and throughout the wider region.
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