How the Research Is Empirically Examined 137
developed into an offensive plan for British expansion in Afghanistan and
central Asia. The British Empire’s major failure in Afghanistan led it to
great expansion in India itself and significant improvement in Britain’s
relations with Russia concerning central Asia, based on a quiet Anglo-
Russian cooperation agreement for peace in Europe, leaving regions of
influence on the other side of Asia alone—a sensible policy that Russia
offered and the government in India always wanted.^178
THE SECOND ANGLO-AFGHAN WAR (1878–1880)
Why Did Britain Invade Afghanistan?The second British invasion of Afghanistan stemmed from the constant
progress of Tsarist Russia in central Asia in the 1860s and 1870s.^179 The
Russo-Turkish War in the Balkans (1877–1878) is particularly notewor-
thy.^180 When Benjamin Disraeli rose to power in Britain, the British policy
toward Afghanistan was redefined. The policy of “supremacy without
activity” was relinquished in favor of what was known as “advancing
policy”: moving forward into Afghan territory, achieving dominance, and
forming a buffer state for defending India. At the same time, the British
conquered Sindh (1842) and Panjab (1849) and positioned themselves
closer to the Afghan border.^181
The InvasionIn 1878, a Russian diplomatic delegation arrived uninvited to the royal
court of Amir Sher Ali Khan (1867–1879), the son and successor of Amir
Dost Mohammad Khan. Furious at the Russian presence in Kabul, Lord
Lytton, the assistant to the king of India, demanded that the Amir receive
a corresponding British delegation. Amir Sher Ali Khan’s reluctance to
comply immediately with the demand gave the British a reason to invade
Afghanistan. In November 1878, British forces attacked Kandahar, Kur-
ram, and Kabul. When they reached the capital, Amir Sher Ali Khan
moved northward hoping to get help from the Russians, leaving his weak
son Mohammad Yaqub Khan behind. Because of lack of will and ability
to resist, Mohammad Yaqub Khan signed the Treaty of Gandamak in May
1874, which forced the new amir to receive a permanent British delegation
in Kabul and transferred Kurram Valley and the Kandahar Passage to Brit-
ish India.^182
The Systemic Pressures for the British Pullout from AfghanistanA change in the Russian attitude toward Afghanistan provided a good
reason for the major British withdrawal. On April 14, 1869, Lord Claren-
don, the British foreign secretary, received a positive promise from Russian