ABSTRACT
On 13 December 2015, the leaders of Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India officially inaugurated the TAPI pipeline, which is set to be the largest cross-country energy infrastructure project undertaken in South Asia with an expected completion date of 2020. The limited literature on TAPI has almost exclusively focused on security impediments to the pipeline from the perspective of the member countries of the project. This chapter argues that the solution to these security threats is greatly constrained by a reductionist rather than a regional and multi-stakeholder approach to the project. Using stakeholder analysis theory and primary data collected by means of interviews with policymakers, the chapter argues that the stakeholdership of TAPI should be broadened to include the perceptions of regional countries, international institutions, external powers and local communities. Convergences of security interests among this wider group of stakeholders can then be exploited via policy mechanisms. While including the interests of external countries and institutions can build consensus on security and political issues, identifying ways by which the interests of communities can be addressed can reduce the explicit emphasis on the physical security of the pipeline by including human security concerns within the project’s blueprint. The cumulative impact of such a multi-stakeholder approach to the TAPI would create a qualitative shift in the perception of regional energy projects in South Asia from the dominant purview of defence to one of inclusive economic cooperation.
