Abstract:

The influence of geographical location and geographical circumstances on human groups, nation states and their policies has been an intriguing area of research since time immemorial. Whereafter Rudolf Kjellen for the first time used the term “geopolitics”, classical and contemporary approaches have been improved in due course under this umbrella. Whereas these geopolitical approaches provide a kind of framework for portraying countries within, they in a way had impacts on shaping the foreign policies of the state actors as well. In this respect, some countries around the globe have been depicted as “geopolitically important countries” and they have been turned into very destinations of global actors in realizing their foreign policy objectives. Afghanistan could be considered one of these countries of high geopolitical value. Being a theatre in the focus of great power politics for almost two ages could be the most proper indicator within this context. Britain and Russia had adopted special policies for Afghanistan during the “Great Game” period. The Soviet Union and the USA had followed similar methodology of politics during the Cold War years. Towards the end of the Cold War Afghanistan was intervened militarily by the Soviet Union and the American military intervention in 2001 constitutes another turning point for the history of this country. Afghanistan, continues to be the center of attention for great powers in international politics at the present time. In this paper, starting out with such a premise, the position of Afghanistan was handled according to geopolitical theories and approaches as well. Afghanistan’s relationship between the classical and contemporary geopolitical theories were studied and thereby, in the light of geopolitical data, in this paper is aimed at drawing a new picture of the country.

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