AMERICAN BASES IN THE FORMER SOVIET UNION?
By Stephen Blank (2/25/2004 issue of the CACI Analyst)
BACKGROUND: Even though all the former Soviet states are formally sovereign, Moscow clearly finds it difficult to accept this fact. It has never truly accepted that they have the right to accept the stationing of foreign troops or foreign military assistance from third parties other than Russia. Moreover, the Russian government has retained bases in Georgia, kept troops in Moldova, and attempted to launch various coups against other rulers or states it has deemed insufficiently subservient to Moscow.NO CLOSER PROSPECTS FOR THE SETTLEMENT OF THE KARABAKH CONFLICT
By Shahin Abbasov (2/11/2004 issue of the CACI Analyst)
BACKGROUND: The development of the situation in Azerbaijan and Armenia, statements of both sides, and the behavior of the mediators all indicate that the hopes for a solution are unlikely to materialize. The co-chairs have already announced that they will not bring any new offers or ideas on settlement to the sides and described their planned visits to the region as “fact-finding.” One rationale for expecting progress in the negotiations was that once presidential elections in Armenia and in Azerbaijan took place amid falsifications and irregularities, the international community, mostly the USA, would receive additional levers of influence on official Baku and Yerevan.INDO-PAKISTANI NEGOTIATIONS: WHAT’S IN THEM FOR CENTRAL ASIA?
By Stephen Blank (2/11/2004 issue of the CACI Analyst)
BACKGROUND: One of the key theaters of Indo-Pakistani rivalry has been Afghanistan. For a long time, Pakistan has sought to gain decisive influence over that state, seeing Afghanistan as a strategic hinterland in its rivalry with India and as a gateway to expanded trade, political, military, and religious ties to Central Asia. During the nineties, Pakistani intelligence agencies were also involved in recruiting Jihadis from these states as well as in forming the Taliban.GEORGIA’S CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS: A SETBACK FOR DEMOCRATIZATION?
By Sabine Freizer (2/11/2004 issue of the CACI Analyst)
BACKGROUND: Having obtained over 96% of the vote in the 4 January 2004 elections, and significant support from Western leaders, President Mikheil Saakashvili has a unique opportunity to address the deep political and developmental crisis facing Georgia by embarking on substantial reforms. One of his greatest challenges is to increase the state’s legitimacy and efficiency after a revolution that demonstrated the population’s deep dissatisfaction with government. The 1995 Constitution of Georgia provided for three distinct branches of government, and a clear system of “checks and balances.Visit also
Staff Publications
Silk Road Paper S. Frederick Starr, Greater Central Asia as A Component of U.S. Global Strategy, October 2024.
Analysis Laura Linderman, "Rising Stakes in Tbilisi as Elections Approach," Civil Georgia, September 7, 2024.
Analysis Mamuka Tsereteli, "U.S. Black Sea Strategy: The Georgian Connection", CEPA, February 9, 2024.
Silk Road Paper Svante E. Cornell, ed., Türkiye's Return to Central Asia and the Caucasus, July 2024.
Book Svante E. Cornell, ed., "The Changing Geopolitics of Central Asia and the Caucasus" AFPC Press/Armin LEar, 2023.
Silk Road Paper Svante E. Cornell and S. Frederick Starr, Stepping up to the “Agency Challenge”: Central Asian Diplomacy in a Time of Troubles, July 2023.
Silk Road Paper S. Frederick Starr, U.S. Policy in Central Asia through Central Asian Eyes, May 2023.