ABSTRACT In 2011, India and Afghanistan signed the Strategic Partnership Agreement that delimited cooperation in economic, social, political, and cultural areas. It depicted the rise of Indian soft power influence. However, the extent to which India garners strategic influence in Afghanistan through soft power remains contentious. This article contends that India’s soft power effectiveness in Afghanistan post-2011 can be fully grasped only via the construction and reception of India’s regional power identity negotiated at the sites of: “civilization,” “democracy,” and “economic-military” enabling India to provide a regional leadership that can forward both India and Afghanistan’s mutual interests. Examining soft power via the constructivist-discursive framework of collective identity strategic narrative, this article compares India-Afghanistan relations in periods 2011–14 and 2014–17. The former formalized strategic partnership agreement and the latter marked continuation of the agreement albeit through domestic political transitions in both countries. This article demonstrates that the Indian soft power influence in Afghanistan between 2014 and 2017 has increased markedly.

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软实力、战略叙事和国家认同：重新评估 2011 年后的印阿关系

摘要 2011 年，印度和阿富汗签署了战略伙伴关系协议，界定了经济、社会、政治和文化领域的合作。它描绘了印度软实力影响力的崛起。然而，印度通过软实力在阿富汗获得战略影响的程度仍然存在争议。本文认为，只有通过在“文明”、“民主”和“经济-军事”赋能印度的站点上协商构建和接受印度的地区权力认同，才能全面掌握印度2011年后在阿富汗的软实力​​有效性。提供能够促进印度和阿富汗共同利益的地区领导。通过集体认同战略叙事的建构主义-话语框架来审视软实力，本文比较了 2011-14 年和 2014-17 年期间的印度-阿富汗关系。前者正式签署了战略伙伴关系协议，后者标志着该协议的延续，尽管两国都经历了国内政治转型。本文表明，2014年至2017年间，印度在阿富汗的软实力​​影响力显着提升。