The Impact of Russo-Ukrainian War on South Asia: An Afghan Perspective

Abstract

The Russo-Ukrainian War has had a global impact on financial markets, commodity prices and military alliances. Initially, for the West to assume Russia would be negligent of its security interests following the Cold War, was a major mistake. The whole world, including South Asia, is now paying a price. As such, this paper looks at the impacts of the Russo-Ukrainian War on South Asia from an Afghan perspective given the fact that Afghanistan has the longest engagement with its neighbour in the north, besides being an integral part of the SAARC. The paper argues that the Russo-Ukrainian War entails negative consequences for South Asian stability — with a particular focus on the situation in Afghanistan —and the region’s economies. The paper also suggests that the Russo-Ukrainian War will impact alliance politics variably in South Asia, depending on each country’s interests. Similarly, the paper notes that both Pakistan and India can learn invaluable lessons with respect to the use of modern technology such as surveillance drones in conventional warfare during the 21 century. Finally, the paper concludes by noting that no amount of trade and economic * Arwin Rahi is a former adviser to the Parwan governor in Afghanistan. He is a Fulbright scholar, a recipient of two Congressional Fellowships, and a researcher at the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terror (START) at the University of Maryland. He can be reached at rahiarwin@gmail.com. ___________________ @2022 by the Islamabad Policy Research Institute. IPRI Journal ◼ XXII (2): 77-102 https://doi.org/10.31945/iprij.220205