MILITARY EXERCISES UNDERSCORE THE SCO’s CHARACTER
By Richard Weitz (5/25/2011 issue of the CACI Analyst)
Since 2003, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) has organized a number of “anti-terrorist exercises” that have involved their armed forces and law enforcement personnel. These drills serve multiple purposes, including improving the proficiency of the members’ security forces, demonstrating new skills, learning about other SCO forces and their capabilities, reassuring the organization’s Central Asian members about their security requirements, providing opportunities to cultivate bilateral contacts with other SCO members, and signaling to outside powers, especially the U.S.
KAZAKHSTAN’S OFFSHORE KASHAGAN DEPOSIT SET FOR FIRST OIL IN 2012
By Robert M. Cutler (5/25/2011 issue of the CACI Analyst)
During a meeting last weekend in Astana, the head of Kazakhstan’s KazMunaiGaz (KMG) K.M. Kabyldin confirmed to the executive council of the EBRD that the first oil from the offshore Kashagan deposit will be produced in late 2012 or early 2013.
THE ROLE OF PUBLIC RELATIONS IN THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF THE NORTH CAUCASUS
By Gregory Zalasky (5/25/2011 issue of the CACI Analyst)
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin recently held a press conference to announce funding for 30 new development projects in the North Caucasus. The announcement was the latest in a string of high profile, high-cost investment plans that aim to pull the troubled region out of a cycle of violence and instability. While the goals of the Russian government should be lauded, the most notable development efforts by the federal and provincial governments focus more on public relations ventures, such as elite ski resorts and soccer exhibitions, than on sustainable economic improvement.
PAKISTAN FACES TOUGH CHOICES AFTER BIN LADEN’S DEATH
By Naveed Ahmad (5/25/2011 issue of the CACI Analyst)
The death of Osama bin Laden on May 2 placed the future of foreign military engagement in Afghanistan in the limelight. Incidentally, Arab militants may also prefer abandoning their traditional bases amid growing unrest in the Middle East. The Afghan capital, Kabul, has been buzzing with ideas for bringing the Taliban to the negotiating table.
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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.