EURASIAN IMPLICATIONS OF EU REFORMS
By Richard Weitz (12/9/2009 issue of the CACI Analyst)
The entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty this month has already started to affect the foreign policy machinery of the European Union (EU). Although the incumbents selected for the new positions of president of the European Council and EU foreign policy chief were perceived as weak, their positions could accrue more influence and authority after they assume office and begin to establish precedents through their actions. Even a marginal strengthening in the EU’s capacity for collective decision making could have important implications for the union’s foreign policies, including toward Eurasia.
THE CENTRAL ASIAN POWER GRID IN DANGER?
By Sébastien Peyrouse (12/9/2009 issue of the CACI Analyst)
In October and November 2009, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan stated their desire to end their participation in the Central Asian Power System, the shared regional power grid of the Central Asian region. Long misused, this collective institution is more than ever a victim of the deteriorating relations between governments owing to the question of water management. However, without any regional structure of cooperation, the energy situation of the two most fragile states, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, risks becoming further complicated during winter, leaving them exposed to hard power rationing.
IS A RETURN TO THE NORTHERN CAUCASUS ON THE CARDS FOR DMITRI KOZAK?
By Kevin Daniel Leahy (12/9/2009 issue of the CACI Analyst)
During his recent speech to Russia’s Federal Assembly, President Dmitri Medvedev, announced that an as-yet-unnamed official would be invested with ‘personal responsibility’ for the Northern Caucasus sometime in the near future. Naturally, there has been some speculation as to whom the president might choose to discharge this onerous duty. One possible candidate is Dmitri Kozak, a man with considerable experience of the region and its complexities.
KADYROV-ZAKAYEV TALKS SPARK CONCERNS IN MOSCOW
By Dmitry Shlapentokh (11/26/2009 issue of the CACI Analyst)
Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov recently offered Akhmed Zakayev, usually considered a quite moderate representative of the North Caucasian insurgency, a safe return to Chechnya and a potential post in the Chechen administration. While Moscow does not consider Zakayev himself to be a dangerous figure, the offer strengthened Moscow’s concerns over Kadyrov’s increasing self-consciousness. Moreover, the issue has added to what Moscow perceives as a potentially harmful inspiration of Kadyrov’s example for the segments of Russian Muslims advocating increasing autonomy from the centre.
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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.