Research
Regional security & Afghanistan
I ask why Afghanistan should be understood as an instigator, not simply an insulator, in its regional security complex.
RSCTSouth & Central AsiaQualitative case study
Explore the argument They called Afghanistan an insulator.
I argue it’s an instigator.
I’m Nimra Zahid, an International Relations researcher and educator in Northampton, UK. My research challenges Afghanistan’s classification as a buffer in Regional Security Complex Theory and asks how threats generated there shape neighbouring regions.
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- 10+years teaching, Pakistan & England
- 6undergraduate IR modules taught
- 3IR degrees
Research & education
A little more about me Two strands of the same curiosity.
Teaching
Teaching, inclusion & possibility
Over ten years teaching across Pakistan and England, from undergraduate International Relations to specialist SEMH provision.
KS3–4 Geography & HistorySEMHUndergraduate IR
My approach to teaching “Her written work demonstrated excellent analytical and critical thinking skills, and she showed a clear ability to engage deeply with academic literature to formulate sophisticated, evidence-based arguments.”
Both strands ask how relationships shape what we see and learn.
Research projects
View all research Research so far.
Each project carries the same question a step further.
MPHIL THESIS · NDU ISLAMABAD
Russia–Afghanistan relations and regional stability
How Russia–Afghanistan relations shape stability across the wider region.
Project overview →CONFERENCE PAPER · ISTANBULThe Global War on Terror, Afghanistan and Turkey
Presented at the Istanbul International Social Science Conference, Istanbul Sabahattin Zaim University, June 2020.
Project overview →MA DISSERTATION · NORTHAMPTONDeconstructing the Role of Afghanistan in Regional Security Complex Theory
Challenges the “insulator” label and reads Afghanistan as an instigator of regional security dynamics.
Project overview →PHD PROJECT · SEEKING SUPERVISION · 2027 ENTRY
Testing the instigator thesis
A doctoral project testing whether Afghanistan now generates, rather than absorbs, the security dynamics of the regions around it.
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