My Enemy’s Enemy: India in Afghanistan from the Soviet Invasion to the US Withdrawal

My Enemy’s Enemy: India in Afghanistan from the Soviet Invasion to the US Withdrawal

RUKHSAR BALKHI

As one of the main sources for my thesis in MSc in Modern South Asian Studies, School of Global and Area Studies, Oxford University, this book has given me an overview of the geopolitical dynamics of South-Central Asia.

Here, I share reflections and key insights from the book that may interest anyone engaged in South-Central Asian affairs or the broader dynamics of the region.

One of the central questions Avinash Paliwal explores in his book My Enemy’s Enemy is whether India’s AFG strategy has been driven primarily by containment of Pakistan.

Is AFG seen just as a strategic agent meant for countering Pakistan? And considering India’s own past ties with Kabul and Pakistan’s ongoing impact in the nation, how should India negotiate its involvement and policy with AFG?

Drawing on an extensive number of primary sources—including interviews, papers, and archival materials—Paliwal contends that while Pakistan is an important factor, it is not the only or even main driver of India’s Afghanistan participation. India often expresses a more general goal: to assist a sovereign, stable, friendly AFG, but the question is how to achieve it.

“Anyone interested in Indian foreign policy, South Asian regional dynamics, or post-9/11 international security may read My Enemy’s Enemy. It presents a more complex knowledge of India’s strategic goals and questions oversimplified geopolitics.”

Paliwal offers two analytical frameworks within Indian policymaking circles to help to clarify this argument. On one side are the “Partisans,” who believe India should only ally itself with opposed AFG political groups.

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On the other hand, the “Conciliators” are those who believe that while Pakistan’s involvement is challenging, sustained involvement with Afghanistan calls for communication with a larger spectrum of Afghan actors—including those with past links to Pakistan’s security agency. Different administrations and environments filter these points of view via institutional policy-making processes.

The book ultimately makes an argument that India’s Afghanistan strategy addresses regional strategic considerations, the changing view of Afghanistan towards India, and the larger international setting in addition to selecting partners that challenge Pakistan.

It constantly shows how various points of view shaped India’s policies in many periods ranging from the 90s to 2015.

Anyone interested in Indian foreign policy, South Asian regional dynamics, or post-9/11 international security may read My Enemy’s Enemy. It presents a more complex knowledge of India’s strategic goals and questions oversimplified geopolitics.

These are more important in understanding how a rising power negotiates difficult, conflict-affected areas like AFG as India’s influence in world affairs keeps growing.

RUKHSAR BALKHI: MSc @University of Oxford MIA @Columbia SIPA, UN & Intl. Orgs studies, Intl. Security Policy, Foreign Policy & Diplomacy, Former LES at US Embassy Kabul, Alumna @Bardcollege @BGIA, @IIE & EAA scholar, Academic enthusiast.

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