India and Pakistan hold unique geopolitical advantages over Western powers in the Middle East

Evidence

Both, however, possess in their dealings with the Middle East certain advantages that Britain and other Western powers could never have, and it would be a grave error to underestimate the role of either Pakistan or India in the Middle East—or to forget that their policies rest on genuine national and geo­ political interests. — Bernard Lewis, From Babel to Dragomans, 1181

Categorization

• XREF: The claim that non-Western successor states enjoy structural advantages over former colonial powers echoes the extralegal-contracting advantages in the diamond bourse materials.