By Johan Engvall

Deceber 15, 2021, the CACI Analyst

Kyrgyzstan’s recent parliamentary vote may not have been the most inspiring in the country’s modern history of competitive elections. The incoming parliament had its powers slashed because of the return to a strong presidential form of government and the parties that received the most votes in the elections are pro-government. While the new legislature appears unlikely to wield strong influence over policy formulation, it nonetheless reflects a decisive and permanent generational shift that has taken place in Kyrgyz politics. The representatives of the older Soviet-era generation are largely out of the government of the state, replaced by “the last children of the Soviet Union”, now in their mid-40s. But who are they?

Kyrgyz Parliament large 

Published in Analytical Articles
Thursday, 08 October 2020 00:00

Kyrgyzstan’s Third Revolution

By Johan Engvall 

October 8, 2020, the CACI Analyst

Kyrgyzstan is again in turmoil following the country’s parliamentary elections on October 4. The day after the election, thousands of demonstrators gathered in central Bishkek to protest the outcome of what opposition leaders described as the dirtiest in the country’s history, ending in a violent showdown between riot police and demonstrators. The fighting went on long into the night, until the protesters overrun the police and seized the presidential palace and the parliament. State power collapsed in the blink of an eye. Now begins the hard part of bringing back law and order and finding a viable path forward. The outcome is genuinely uncertain. There are no boundaries for what kind of interests that can lay claim on political authority. Old and new politicians, criminal groups and political activists all try to fill the power vacuum.  

 

 Bishkek capitol revolution 800

Published in Analytical Articles
Wednesday, 02 December 2015 00:00

Prison break in Kyrgyzstan

By Arslan Sabyrbekov

December 2nd, the CACI Analyst

On October 12, 2015, nine prisoners convicted on extremism and terrorism charges broke out of prison No. 50 near Bishkek, killing three guards and leaving one heavily wounded, who died later in the hospital. Shortly after the escape, police captured five of the fugitives and returned them to prison. A few days later, one of the four missing escapees was killed after he tried to attack a police officer with a knife. The scene took place in one of Bishkek’s suburbs. It took almost another two weeks for the state security services to capture and disarm the rest of the escapees on October 22.

kg-prisonbreak 

Published in Field Reports

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Staff Publications

Screen Shot 2023-05-08 at 10.32.15 AMSilk Road Paper S. Frederick Starr, U.S. Policy in Central Asia through Central Asian Eyes, May 2023.


Analysis Svante E. Cornell, "Promise and Peril in the Caucasus," AFPC Insights, March 30, 2023.

Oped S. Frederick Starr, Putin's War In Ukraine and the Crimean War), 19fourtyfive, January 2, 2023

Oped S. Frederick Starr, Russia Needs Its Own Charles de Gaulle,  Foreign Policy, July 21, 2022.

2206-StarrSilk Road Paper S. Frederick Starr, Rethinking Greater Central Asia: American and Western Stakes in the Region and How to Advance Them, June 2022 

Oped Svante E. Cornell & Albert Barro, With referendum, Kazakh President pushes for reforms, Euractiv, June 3, 2022.

Oped Svante E. Cornell Russia's Southern Neighbors Take a Stand, The Hill, May 6, 2022.

Silk Road Paper Johan Engvall, Between Bandits and Bureaucrats: 30 Years of Parliamentary Development in Kyrgyzstan, January 2022.  

Oped Svante E. Cornell, No, The War in Ukraine is not about NATO, The Hill, March 9, 2022.

Analysis Svante E. Cornell, Kazakhstan’s Crisis Calls for a Central Asia Policy Reboot, The National Interest, January 34, 2022.

StronguniquecoverBook S. Frederick Starr and Svante E. Cornell, Strong and Unique: Three Decades of U.S.-Kazakhstan Partnership, Central Asia-Caucasus Institute, December 2021.  

Silk Road Paper Svante E. Cornell, S. Frederick Starr & Albert Barro, Political and Economic Reforms in Kazakhstan Under President Tokayev, November 2021.

The Central Asia-Caucasus Analyst is a biweekly publication of the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute & Silk Road Studies Program, a Joint Transatlantic Research and Policy Center affiliated with the American Foreign Policy Council, Washington DC., and the Institute for Security and Development Policy, Stockholm. For 15 years, the Analyst has brought cutting edge analysis of the region geared toward a practitioner audience.

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