ISAS Working Papers

Calls for a regional approach to stabilise Afghanistan have not been accompanied by serious efforts to analyse the evolving motivations and strategies of regional actors. Occupying a unique position as Afghanistan’s leading regional development partner, India is poised to play an instrumental role. The development partnership between India and Afghanistan, which e merged in the wake of the United State ( US ) invasion in 2001, has been recalibrated according to a revised conception of India’s own strengths and limitations in its region and a sober reassessment of geopolitical realities. Built into this revision is a measured accommo dation of Pakistan. While India may now succeed in carving out a strategically viable place for itself, the ability of India to achieve its goals in Afghanistan crucially depends on its capacity to leverage regional cooperation.