Afghanistan sits at the crossroads of South Asia, Central Asia, and the Middle East. This  geographic reality has historically attracted external influence and great-power competition.¹ The Taliban regained control of the government in August 2021, following the rapid  withdrawal of NATO troops. This has further complicated the situation and made it a key issue  in International Relations (IR) theory. Internal factors influence regional actors, and the  international system has hesitated to fully accept the Taliban’s role.² Complex forms of  engagement are now occurring. This case challenges mainstream IR views, which assert that  states must be recognised before formal interaction and cooperation. The aim of this paper is  to answer the following research question: How does the Taliban regime in Afghanistan gain  de facto ‘strategic-necessity legitimacy’ in its regional security complex, despite limited formal  recognition?

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