In 2022, we see that the security and geopolitical equations are rapidly changing and analysts are facing difficulties in identifying and explaining emerging trends.  As old geopolitical terminologies give way to new ones, governments the world over have the opportunity to redefine their positions in the foreign policy sphere. With the fall of the Afghanistan government and the subsequent Russian invasion of Ukraine, the great powers’ battleground has shifted from West Asia to Eastern Europe. This shift could lead to the rise of extreme religious fundamentalism in Afghanistan and its neighbouring countries which could, in turn, exacerbate the regional security crisis. At the same time, the fact that the withdrawal of international military forces from Afghanistan has left a power vacuum and the world’s attention is currently directed towards Ukraine and other regions of Europe, Iran and India have an opportunity to play an active role in the regional and continental levels.

With the fall of the Afghanistan government and the subsequent Russian invasion of Ukraine, the great powers’ battleground has shifted from West Asia to Eastern Europe.

Redefining regional cooperation

The changing global system has highlighted the ineffectiveness of regional organisations in recent times. The former regional and continental cooperation mechanisms formed according to the “New World Order” logic, especially since the beginning of the 1990s, can no longer meet the security requirements of the “New International Order”. Regional organisations such as the Economic Cooperation Organisation (ECO) or  South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), or extra-regional organisations such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and other cooperative frameworks defined in the last three decades, need a profound rethinking of their goals. Accordingly, we must redefine the existing conditions, accurately understand countries’ needs, define new common interests, and set up new regional and continental institutions, organisations, and mechanisms. According to the theories of new regionalism, a region is what we perceive to be, not necessarily what is defined on the map as was previously outlined by classical theories of regionalism. New regions have said to have two major features:  Thematic openness and geographical flexibility, therefore,  in modern theories of regionalism, countries can establish a new region (physical or virtual) and expand or strengthen it according to the common interests that they define with other countries. At the same time, as constructivists believe, common interests are defined based on common identities. Looking at identity-forming elements, we realise that culture and its constituent elements are the major drivers of the formation of identities. Therefore, new cooperation models that are focused on shared cultural norms and values, and can form shared identities and interests, are essential prerequisites for security.

The formation of regional cooperation in the form of broad, bottom-up relations can gradually help increase knowledge and engagement between communities.

Unlike classical regionalism, which dictated regional cooperation in a ‘top-down’ manner, and any cooperation required an agreement between the countries’ highest political authorities, the new regionalism models favour ‘bottom-up’ patterns. Moreover, cooperation at the lower levels of the power structure, including cooperation between civil institutions (such as individuals, associations, and scientific and cultural centres), has gained importance. The formation of regional cooperation in the form of broad, bottom-up relations can gradually help increase knowledge and engagement between communities. It can initially lay the groundwork for the formation of a “regional society” founded on civic ties in the scientific, cultural, and social fields, and lead to economic, political, and security cooperation. Having rich historical and cultural backgrounds and shared cultural values and norms with their neighbours in the Central, South, and West Asian regions, Iran and India have the potential to construct a “regional society” based on these tenants. The two countries can present a new definition of regional security in the 21^st century through such intercultural communications, designing a new cooperation model for ensuring regional security.

Afghanistan: The focus of transnational cooperation

In recent decades, Afghanistan has been the major arena for transnational cooperation between Iran and India. The main manifestations of this cooperation can be observed in the second half of the 1990s when the first Taliban government took control in Kabul when Iran and India supported the Northern Alliance and moderate religious parties in Afghanistan. Therefore, there is no doubt that Afghanistan, owing to its historical ties with India and Iran, can be a good link between the two countries and contribute to shaping this new model of regional integration and the formation of a new regional-cooperation mechanism throughout Asia.

The main manifestations of this cooperation can be observed in the second half of the 1990s when the first Taliban government took control in Kabul when Iran and India supported the Northern Alliance and moderate religious parties in Afghanistan.

Today, both India and Iran are undertaking efforts to establish contact with the Taliban. To sustain regional stability, both countries are willing to find common solutions to control the growing phenomenon of religious fundamentalism—as witnessed before in the spread of the ISIS movement from the Levant to Khorasan. Both countries also host a multitude of Afghan civil activists, journalists, academics, students, and intellectuals. This has created an unprecedented capacity and social capital in these two countries and has the potential to advance the cultural regionalisation programmes in this part of Asia. Providing a platform for dialogue and exchange of ideas between academics and intellectuals from these three countries to create new discourses based on the shared elements in the civilisational worldviews can lead to the formation of a new school of thought in the field of security studies. Finally, with the help of intellectuals from Afghanistan and other countries in the region, Iran and India can also lay the groundwork for the formation of a new model of multicultural regional society. In this way, both countries would be able to have intellectual and cultural leadership in the region and protect it against imported models, including the western models which suit European and American societies better, or the models based on religious fundamentalism which unite religious extremists and increase insecurity.

• International Affairs
• India
• West Asia
• Afghanistan
• Europe
• fundamentalism
• geopolitical
• India-Iran
• Khorasan
• military
• security

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