Ananth Krishnan and Stanly Johny, The Comrades and the Mullahs, China Afghanistan and the New Asian Geopolitics. Harper Collins, 2022, 277 pp., ₹438 (hardcover). ISBN 978-93548995210.
| Author | Akshaya Saroha |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/09735984221126210 |
| Published date | 01 December 2022 |
| Date | 01 December 2022 |
| Subject Matter | Book Reviews |
https://doi.org/10.1177/09735984221126210
Jadavpur Journal of
International Relations
26(2) 250 –257, 2022
© 2022 Jadavpur University
Reprints and permissions:
in.sagepub.com/journals-permissions-india
DOI: 10.1177/09735984221126210
journals.sagepub.com/home/jnr
Book Review
Ananth Krishnan and Stanly Johny, The Comrades and the
Mullahs, China Afghanistan and the New Asian Geopolitics.
Harper Collins, 2022, 277 pp., `438 (hardcover). ISBN 978-
93548995210.
The American troops’ withdrawal from Afghanistan could be termed a
watershed moment in contemporary international politics. The book,
The Comrades and the Mullahs, China Afghanistan and the New Asian
Geopolitics is a timely contribution to the field as the foreign policy of
the world, including China, is coalescing with the ascendency of the
Asian geopolitics, which is likely to shape the power configuration in
the twenty-first century. In the Introduction, the authors map the
ambitious canvas of the book. The introductory part has briskly touched
upon varied themes, including the factious nature of the Afghan polity,
periodical foreign interventions and the proxy wars, the hasty
withdrawal of the United States, China’s political and economic
calculations in its Westward march, and the impact of the same on the
interests of India. The authors, Ananth Krishnan and Stanly Johny,
have very eloquently attempted to extrapolate the situation in
Afghanistan vis-à-vis the Asian geopolitics to be played by superpower-
in-waiting, China. This book remains divided into 10 chapters that
focus on the entry and exit of America in Afghanistan and the deepening
strategic inroads made by China in the territory of its Western neighbor
(Afghanistan). In the book’s first half, the authors have argued about
the periodical interventions in Afghanistan and the rise of Mujahidin
and the Taliban as a byproduct of external powers meddling inside the
country. It pragmatically draws a parallel between America’s Vietnam
War and its protracted military engagement in an intractable conflict in
To continue reading
Request your trial