THE GEORGIAN RIVIERA: DREAM OR REALITY?
By Archil Kekelia (5/9/2001 issue of the CACI Analyst)
BACKGROUND: Tourism in Georgia, as pretty much all sectors, is experiencing severe hardships. Probably, tourism is the only sector which was affected by collapse of other sectors altogether – agriculture, transportation, energy sector, as well as factors like finances, customs, international relations, environment, etc. As a result, the tourism industry, which once was the country’s most developed sector, is hardly breathing.
RUMORS OF WAR IN CENTRAL ASIA
By Prof. Stephen Blank (5/9/2001 issue of the CACI Analyst)
BACKGROUND: Recent reports from German intelligence, foreign journalists, and the publicly announced preparations and exercises of Russia and the Central Asian states all display the expectation of renewed conflict triggered by the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) in Central Asia. If the IMU or other forces trigger a third straight year of war, they might create an enduring basis for long-term small-scale war or worse. There is already enormous destabilizing potential in Central Asia, and prolonged warfare would only add to it.
KEY WEST TALKS ON NAGORNO-KARABAKH: WILL THE “CAUCASIAN KNOT” BE CUT?
By Tigran Martirosyan (5/9/2001 issue of the CACI Analyst)
BACKGROUND: The talks in Key West marked a continuation of the Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents’ direct dialogue aimed at developing a common ground on general principles of the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The two presidents started the dialogue in April 1999 and have met several times ever since. Their most recent encounters were in January 26 and March 4-5 in Paris and, with personal mediating efforts by President Jacques Chirac registered insignificant progress.
THE CHINESE SOLUTION FOR CENTRAL ASIA’S MANPOWER PROBLEMS
By Dr. Theodore Karasik (5/23/2001 issue of the CACI Analyst)
BACKGROUND: Kazakhstan is both blessed and cursed. Producing over half a million barrels of oil per day (bbl/d) and with well over 60 billion barrels of estimated oil reserves, landlocked Kazakhstan has the potential to be a major, regional oil producer. Unfortunately, with a current population of less than 17 million and the increasing outflow of skilled workers, the remaining Kazakhs face the ravages of infectious diseases and future generations that are stunted and weak.
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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.