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Why did the nuclear dominoes stop in Afghanistan? This paper is a logical analysis of this question. Nuclear dominoes are common in rival relations characterized by geographic proximity, ongoing military conflict, and mutual hostility. The U.S.– USSR–China–India–Pakistan cascade of nuclear weapons development is empirical evidence of this phenomenon. However, despite the development of nuclear weapons by its arch-enemy Pakistan, Afghanistan did not proliferate in response. This study identifies and validates the reasons why Afghanistan did not (or could not) develop nuclear weapons, categorized into threat, capability, and constraint factors. The most significant finding is that Afghanistan did not perceive Pakistan’s nukes as a threat in terms of intention. Of course, it is also possible to argue that Afghanistan lacked the capacity to bear the various costs of developing nuclear weapons and that structural constraints imposed by international nonproliferation commitments, great power coercion, and regional balance of power dynamics prevented it from doing so. However, the root cause was the symbiotic relationship between the Taliban regime and Pakistan, temporarily easing the enduring rivalry, resulting in a bias in threat perception. These findings are consistent with the constructivist view of the importance of “shared understanding” in threat perception and challenge the realist perception that nuclear dominoes are inevitable in rivalry relationships. They are also significant because they provide clues for peace and stability in East Asia, one of the regions most likely to experience nuclear dominoes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Afghanistan is China's neighbor and with its location in the south of Asia, it is important for global players including China. Afghanistan participates with Pakistan in the initiative-way project. The main question of this article is that what are China's goals through the Belt and Road initiative through Afghanistan? This article explains the goals and actions of world powers and especially China in the political scene with the descriptiveanalytical method and using the theoretical approaches of balancing, the international regimes and the interdependence theories. Afghanistan has paid attention to the role of foreign radio media in reflecting this issue. Based on the results, the improvement of the economic situation of the troubled Xinjiang region in the northwest of China, the stabilization of China's economic and commercial position in Central Asia, the development of China's economic influence in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and the revival of its traditional position is vital. China is on the Silk Road in the framework of a wide land and sea corridor. With West Asia and Europe, it is considered among the motivations and reasons for the formation of China's plan. Also, due to the competition with the big powers, China wants to minimize their role in Afghanistan and reach a balance of power with them. Therefore, the percentage of Afghanistan's confidence has come and the request for this plan is from Afghanistan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]