Intro
Acknowledgments
Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction
1.1 How to Assess Importance in the Borderlands: A Method
1.2 The Topical Challenges and Their Rationale
Chapter 2: A Theoretical Discussion on the Borderlands
2.1 Mackinderś Theory on the Borderlands
2.2 Spykmanś Rimland Theory on the Borderlands
2.3 Mahanś Sea Power Theory for Borderlands
2.4 The Common Denominator
References
Chapter 3: The Core Borderland: Afghanistan
3.1 The Making of the Crossroads Civilization
3.1.1 The Role of History and Current Challenges

3.1.2 Conflictual Foundations and Geopolitical Imperatives
3.2 Deglobalization: Beginnings and Waves
3.2.1 The Beginning: From New York to Central Asia
3.2.2 The US Withdrawal from Afghanistan: A Discussion on Amplitude or Ramifications?
3.3 The Future: The New Great Game?
3.3.1 The Crossroads of Ambitions: A Triangle Between Pakistan, India, and China
3.3.2 A Case Study: China and Afghanistan
References
Chapter 4: The Middle Powers and the Core Borderland
4.1 Pakistan: The Struggle for Stability
4.1.1 The Morphology of a Challenging Geography

4.1.2 The Troubled Politics ́Effects on Poor Socio-economics
4.2 A Troubled Border: The Potential for Conflict Between Afghanistan and Pakistan
4.2.1 A Complex Militant Landscape
4.2.2 The Politics of Insurgency
4.3 A Good(?) Neighborhood: Afghanistan and Iran
4.3.1 Balochistan: Between Self-Determination and a Place for Competition
4.3.2 The Islamic State and the Opportunity for Coordination, If Not Cooperation
References
Chapter 5: Iran: The Resurgent(?) Landlocked Power
5.1 Geographical Challenges and Geopolitical Imperatives

5.1.1 The Human Geography of a Mountainous Landscape
5.1.2 Assessing Imperatives and the Regional Moving Parts
5.2 Iranś Internal Problems and Strategic Priorities
5.2.1 An Analysis on the Iranś Contemporary Revolutionary Spirits
5.2.2 A Structural Overview of Iranś Problems and Priorities
5.3 The Signs for Change in the Middle East-and Their Limits
5.3.1 A Narrow Window of Opportunity: The Rapprochement Between Iran and Saudi Arabia
5.3.2 Normalizing the Complex Relations Between Turkey and Egypt
References
Chapter 6: The Connector Challenges

6.1 From the Middle East into Europe: Turkey
6.1.1 A Complex Equation for the Syrian Problem
6.1.2 A Rapprochement and Its (Im)possibility
6.2 The Earthquake and Its Shaky Ramifications
6.2.1 A Factor for External Disruption or One for External Consolidation?
6.2.2 The Challenges for the Turkish Internal Buildup
6.3 Beyond the Crisis: Turkeyś Geopolitical Imperatives
6.3.1 Unpacking Turkeyś Geographical Anatomy
6.3.2 Controlling What Flows: The Straits and the Water Problems
6.3.3 The Geography of Constant Adaptation as the Stateś First Imperative
References