Publication

This report details the nature of the tension between India and Pakistan over Afghanistan and outlines steps the US government can take to avoid another conflict there. The author writes that the US, in its withdrawal from Afghanistan, faces three interrelated challenges: a weak national state, rising Islamic radicalism, and zero-sum regional politics that could fuel another civil war in the country. The author also argues that if the US continues its drawdown in Afghanistan without addressing the structural challenges stemming from the India-Pakistan balance-of-power contest, a new civil war is all too likely.