China has financed the construction of an outpost for a Tajikistan special forces team. The post is located in the Pamir Mountains which is in the eastern Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Province. The outpost has been built amid the new tensions between the Dushanbe Government and the newly ruling Taliban Government in Afghanistan. The Tajikistan President has refused to recognize the new Afghan Government, saying a more broad representation is needed for Afghan ethnic groups.
China is in defense of Tajikistan, as they have investments there. Russia has also stated that they are in defense of the Dushanbe Government if there was an invasion to the south. This has a major impact for Tajikistan, both negatively and positively. The negative is the possibility of a conflict with a bordering nation in Afghanistan. The Afghan government is now a more militant with the new Taliban leadership, which can seem threatening. The positive is that they now have allied with China and Russia, and have them as allies if an attack from the Taliban happens. This could have a bad lasting impact between Afghanistan and Tajikistan in the means of a war. The Taliban in Kabul have allied with a Taljik militant group from northern Afghanistan based around overthrowing President Rakhmon. Russian sources discovered that, and then stood ready to defend against the Taliban.
This relates to the realist perspective in that the Taliban are looking to gain power, and are at odds with its bordering nation Tajikistan and are threatening towards them. This also relates to the power of ideas, because of the two’s differentials in religion, national interests, and ideology and alliances. Tajikistan has Russia and China backing them if Afghanistan attacks them because of their interests in Tajikistan. In return for their interest, China funded a base to help defend their nation and both of their interests.