Landlocked Central Asian countries seek secure and cost-effective access to open waters following geopolitical shifts caused by the Ukraine crisis and the restructuring of supply chains. Using a qualitative and comparative-analytical method, this study evaluates two strategic options—the Iranian transit corridor (Chabahar and Bandar Abbas ports) and the Trans-Afghan Railway—based on four indicators: cost-time, infrastructure capacity, operational security, and political-financial sustainability. Findings indicate that Iran’s route holds short-term superiority due to existing infrastructure and operational stability; whereas the Trans-Afghan Railway, despite its shorter distance, faces security challenges in Afghanistan and financing deadlocks. These two routes serve as complementary tools for transit diversification within the theoretical frameworks of geoeconomics and complex interdependence. This study adopts a qualitative, comparative-analytical approach utilizing library resources, institutional reports (World Bank, UNESCAP, ADB), and empirical data regarding regional corridors. The study integrates Geoeconomics (Luttwak, 1990; Blackwill & Harris, 2016) and Complex Interdependence (Keohane & Nye, 2012) to explain how connectivity infrastructure acts as a tool of statecraft and how Central Asian states pursue multi-vector transit diversification to mitigate vulnerability.
Keywords: Central Asia, Geoeconomics, Transit, Chabahar Port, Trans-Afghan Railway, North-South Corridor.