Geopolitical analysis of the Durand Line border dispute at the national scale, with an emphasis on its geo-economic, geo-strategic, and geo-cultural implications. 

The Durand Line border region between Afghanistan and Pakistan has, for more than a century, constituted a geopolitical knot with geo-economic, geo-strategic, and geo-cultural ramifications in South and Central Asia, shaped by an imposed boundary. Afghanistan, emphasizing historical and cultural claims over Pashtun-inhabited areas, and Pakistan, focusing on legal justification and ethnic–political control, advance competing narratives that generate persistent tension.
Using a descriptive–analytical method and a multi-layered theoretical framework, this study shows that the Durand border region—beyond its security significance—plays a vital role in the regional balance of power as a hub for transit networks, energy projects, and Pashtun cultural linkages. The findings indicate that instability along the Durand Line, from local to regional levels, produces interconnected effects on transit corridors, security policies, and ideological–cultural discourses. While the research focuses on the national level, the roles of regional and extra-regional actors are addressed indirectly within the broader geopolitical context of the Durand border region.
Accordingly, the Durand Line dispute is fundamentally geopolitical. Its multidimensional nature operates in a circular chain of causality, generating geoeconomic and geocultural consequences that ultimately shape geostrategic outcomes. Given Iran's geopolitical significance in the region, it is proposed that regional and international organizations pursue the management of the Durand Line dispute with Iran as a pivotal mediator.