Rajen Harshé is Visiting Professor in the Department of International Relations, South Asian University, New Delhi, India. He has been President of the G. B. Pant Social Science Institute of Allahabad since August 2014 and was the first Vice Chancellor of the University of Allahabad (2005–10) after it regained central status. Dhananjay Tripathi is Assistant Professor at the Department of International Relations, South Asian University, New Delhi, India.

• Introduction Part I: Locating Afghanistan in a globalising world and testing theories of international relations 1. Situating Afghanistan in a globalising world 2. The many lives of Afghanistan: Reassessing disciplinary international relations 3. Rethinking stability for Afghanistan: Socialising Great Powers in a multilateral order Part II: The USA, NATO and Afghanistan 4. The US role in Afghanistan: A critical overview 5. The Afghan National Security Force: The challenges and implications of the NATO withdrawal 6. For durable peace and stability: Discussing prospects of the NATO membership for Afghanistan Part III: Afghanistan and major powers 7. Germany’s engagement in Afghanistan 8. Developments in Afghanistan after 2014: A perspective from Russia and its possible role 9. Withdrawal of the NATO and Indo–Afghan relations: Emerging possibilities and challenges Part IV: Regional perspectives on Afghanistan 10. Nailing Jell-O: Regional organisations and Afghanistan’s security after 2014 11. Afghanistan in the South Asian traditional and non-traditional security paradigm 12. Drawdown from Afghanistan: Implications for India’s engagement in Central Asia