Uzbekistan's Post-Soviet Generation Leapfrogs Into Power
by Nicklas Norling (05/29/2013 issue of the CACI Analyst)
A series of senior-level appointments over the past two years suggest a generational shift in Uzbekistan’s politics. Figures born in the 1970s now fill several deputy head positions in some of the most significant ministries and agencies – the intelligence organ (SNB), the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Justice and others. Having entered their careers in the 1990s, this new post-Soviet generation of Uzbek politicians is on the doorstep of real political power. This generational change is inevitable but the President appears to be leapfrogging this younger generation into power.
Ivanishvili And The Georgian-Orthodox Church: An Alliance Starting To Sour?
by Ariela Shapiro (05/29/2013 issue of the CACI Analyst)
On May 17, 28 people were injured when an angry mob, led by Georgian clergymen, broke through police cordons and clashed with gay rights activists in Tbilisi, Georgia. The U.S. and EU condemned the events while Prime Minister Ivanishvili promised that those who instigated the violence would be prosecuted, including members of the clergy. Despite the government’s harsh rhetoric, only four laypeople have been arrested while four individuals, two of whom are clergymen, have been charged with “encroachment of the right to assembly and manifestation”.
A New Turn In Russia's Military Policy In Central Asia?
by Stephen Blank (05/29/2013 issue of the CACI Analyst)
Russia is changing its defense policies in Central Asia and the Caucasus. Late last year, Russia sent the regular Army to deal with the North Caucasian insurgency while Ministry of Interior forces (VVMVD) are now conducting large-scale operations with Azerbaijani security forces on both sides of the common border, presumably against North Caucasian and Azerbaijani-based terrorists and insurgents. Russia has also recently created a Special Operations Command consisting of a Special Forces brigade, a training center, helicopter, and air transportation squadrons. Russia will assign its airborne forces (VDV) missions relating to peace-creating operations, while it also spends large sums of money to refurbish its bases in Kyrgyzstan and pressures Tajikistan to host a Russian base.
NORTH Caucasus Insurgency Makes Inroads To Tatarstan, Bashkortostan
by Emil Souleimanov 05/29/2013 issue of the CACI Analyst)
Recently, a number of observers have pointed to the increasing threat of militant Salafism in the Volga-Ural region, namely, the republics of Tatarstan and Bashkortostan inhabited by a Muslim majority population. Whilst assessments of the severity of the present threat vary, most specialists admit that what is considered the spread of Jihadism to the Russian hinterland should be regarded in light of the ongoing insurgency in the North Caucasus. This article aims to explore the links of North Caucasian insurgents to the Volga-Ural region and the potential of “Wahhabi terrorism” particularly in Tatarstan
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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.