The Iran-Pakistan-India Pipeline - The Intersection of Energy Politics

This paper seeks to identify the strategic and economic variables involved in India’s decision about whether or not to pursue a proposed natural gas pipeline from Iran. There is a lot of misinformation and misunderstanding surrounding the pipeline, its history, and the current state of negotiations. By providing a brief historical overview of the pipeline and then analyzing the pipeline’s advantages and disadvantages in the context of India’s energy needs and the international diplomatic environment, this paper will seek to dismiss the misinformation and provide a framework for further debate. Although the pipeline has been pending for a decade and a half, the majority of literature has either focused on its role in meeting India’s energy needs, or on the geopolitical implications of the pipeline. This paper will attempt to bridge the gap between these viewpoints, underlining issues of energy and traditional security alike, and providing a comprehensive study of the pipeline project.