The Effect of Afghanistan on the National Security of Tajikistan

Abstract

This thesis project is aimed at studying Afghanistan’s effect on the national security of Tajikistan. This paper attempts to understand and to evaluate the impact of an unstable neighboring country, Afghanistan, on the national security of Tajikistan with the help of theory that analyses the spread “diffusion” or “spillover” of violent conflict. The research study was conducted by using the qualitative approach, and mainly relies on secondary sources. Planned as a qualitative research, this thesis seeks to answer the question “How does Afghanistan affect Tajikistan’s National Security?” through review of scholarly books and articles, which connected to the topic, reports of International organizations and analysts, news sources, etc. The research finds that currently, Afghanistan is considered a source of several problems, such as drug trafficking, terrorism, religious extremism, radical Islam and it is in first place in the producing and trafficking of opium in the world. Moreover, it is not the main threat to Central Asian countries, particularly to Tajikistan, as the threat is exaggerated by local authorities.