CENTRAL ASIA TURNS TOWARD IRAN AT RUSSIA’S EXPENSE
By Christopher Boucek (7/5/2000 issue of the CACI Analyst)
BACKGROUND: As the Central Asian states slowly find their way in a post-Soviet world, the republics are cautious to avoid returning to a system dictated by Moscow. As they strive towards a policy of independence, the Islamic Republic of Iran is a natural geopolitical counterbalance to any perceptions of Russian chauvinism vis-à-vis Central Asia. Iran has taken strong positions on separatism and extremism, both comforting to the Central Asian republics.
SULTAN NAZARBAYEV?: CENTRAL ASIA'S LATEST PRESIDENT-FOR-LIFE
By Bea Hogan (7/5/2000 issue of the CACI Analyst)
BACKGROUND: Since he came to power during the Soviet era, Nursultan Nazarbayev has distinguished himself by his political skill. Early on he learned to balance the interests of various ethnic groups in the country, diffuse radical nationalist strains, cajole Western policymakers, and attract foreign investment. Mikhail Gorbachev appointed him First Secretary of the Kazakh SSR in 1989 and shortly thereafter, the Soviet parliament changed his title to president.
AIDS EPIDEMIC AMONG XINJIANG’S UYGHURS
By Alim A. Seytoff (7/5/2000 issue of the CACI Analyst)
BACKROUND: Heroin and AIDS were first only seen in Xinjiang, China in Western films beginning a decade ago. Marijuana and hashish have been common to the region for centuries. But drugs such as heroin and cocaine were introduced to Xinjiang only in the early 1990s from Southeast Asia’s Golden Triangle, which is thousands of miles away.
THE ARMY IN TAJIKISTAN: TEN YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE
By Roger N. McDermott (3/12/2003 issue of the CACI Analyst)
BACKGROUND: Whilst most of the early militaries in Central Asia were developed on the basis of the units in the Soviet Turkestan Military District, in Tajikistan the experience of military construction was unique, relying upon volunteer groups. The Tajik armed forces inherited little from Soviet army, military schools and training centers were entirely lacking. This greatly inhibited the speed at which suitable forces could be constructed.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.