ENERGY RESOURCES MANAGEMENT IN CENTRAL ASIA AND THE CAUCASUS: GOVERNANCE AND TRANSPARENCY
By Daniel Linotte (5/4/2005 issue of the CACI Analyst)
BACKGROUND: The revolutions of Georgia, Ukraine and the Kyrgyzstan installed new governments that appear willing to address what is often perceived as the major obstacles to economic development, namely poor governance and high corruption levels. These countries have inter alea one common feature: they have very limited endowments of energy resources, particularly oil and gas. De facto, neighboring countries – Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan – are much better endowed.SAAKASHVILI ON THE ROPES?
By Joel Myers (5/4/2005 issue of the CACI Analyst)
BACKGROUND: Saakashvili hit the ground running after his election in January of 2004. His strong patriotic rhetoric, coupled with his pledges to fight corruption and bring Georgia closer to the West, galvanized the public and gave them hope. He certainly did not disappoint, sending a package of reform bills to parliament within the first month of his presidency, and quickly arresting a number of high profile businessmen and politicians on charges of corruption.AFTER THE EARTHQUAKE: KYRGYZSTAN’S REVOLUTION AND ITS REPERCUSSIONS
By Stephen Blank (5/4/2005 issue of the CACI Analyst)
BACKGROUND: While it is true that Georgia’s Rose Revolution of November, 2003 inspired opposition groups in Central Asia, it is more accurate to say that it really was the stimulus provided by Ukraine’s orange revolution of November-December, 2004 that galvanized sufficient domestic opposition in Kyrgyzstan to then overthrow the Akayev regime. While the Kyrgyz revolution was triggered by the Akayev regime’s efforts to steal the election and continue looting the country on behalf of Akayev’s family and cronies; it clearly was stimulated by two related and converging trends. One of them was Ukraine’s orange revolution, and the second was the revulsion felt at home against a corrupt regime that systematically threatened to use force to keep itself in power.ALTERNATIVE TRANSPORT ROUTES BEGIN TO EMERGE IN CENTRAL ASIA
By Inomjon Bobokulov (4/20/2005 issue of the CACI Analyst)
BACKGROUND: Central Asia is considered to be the heart of Eurasia, serving as the linking point between East and West as well as between North and South. It is a gateway to Europe for China, South and South East Asia, and it is pivotal in the relationships between Russia and the Southern Asian countries. The region is served by an extensive national rail and road system, but it has no direct access to the sea or to the world’s transport networks.Visit also
Staff Publications
Silk 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.
Silk 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.
Book 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.