TURKMEN ELITE RESHUFFLES
By Slavomír Horák (6/17/2009 issue of the CACI Analyst)
Turkmenistan’s domestic politics remain in the shadow of a new round of the “Caspian gas game,” which in the last two years has centered on this energy-rich country. However, the external actors have thus far achieved few concrete results. A deeper look at the new regime in Turkmenistan makes evident the unpredictability of the regime, which arises very much from the personality of President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov himself.
UZBEKISTAN AND REGIONAL INTEGRATION IN CENTRAL ASIA
By Umida Hashimova (6/17/2009 issue of the CACI Analyst)
Since independence, Uzbekistan has been known as a country with limited willingness for integration and great caution toward regional initiatives. Uzbekistan has suspended its membership in the Eurasian Economic Community (EURASEC) and has been absent from recent meetings of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). Through publicly questioning the effectiveness of those regional organizations of which the country is a member, the Government of Uzbekistan is currently showing the lowest interest in regional structures since its independence.
THE INCONSISTENCIES OF RUSSIAN MIGRATION POLICY: POLITICAL RISKS AND SOCIAL CHALLENGES
By Marlène Laruelle (6/17/2009 issue of the CACI Analyst)
As the Federal Migration Service prepares to draw up new legislation on migrant workers, the Kremlin’s policy on both migration and the rise of xenophobia remain contradictory. The Russian authorities’ reluctance to take a clear position on these issues reinforces the tensions in Russia itself and worsens Moscow’s image in the emigration countries, particularly in Central Asia. The failure to find a solution to this question could open the door to harmful forces of destabilization both domestically and in the emigration countries.
RUSSIAN PRESSURE AFFECTS UN STANCE ON GEORGIAN CONFLICTS
By Johanna Popjanevski (6/3/2009 issue of the CACI Analyst)
On May 27, Georgia accused the UN Secretary General of giving in to Russian blackmail in his latest report on the situation in Abkhazia. The report – produced after Moscow and Sukhumi refused to take part in scheduled Geneva talks with Georgia – fails to refer to the breakaway republic as part of Georgia, and takes no account of Tbilisi’s requests for an international law enforcement mission there. The episode suggests that Russia has again used its influence in the UN Security Council to legitimize its policies and presence in Georgia, and highlights a need for Western states to take a determined stance with regard to Georgia’s territorial integrity.
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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.