By Stephen Blank (11/12/2008 issue of the CACI Analyst)
Russia’s war with Georgia has triggered a diplomatic upheaval across the region, but also in the international relations of the Caucasus. Not only has Russia laid down a forceful marker claiming its right to an exclusive sphere of influence there and across the CIS, it has moved to follow it up by placing pressure on Azerbaijan’s foreign, defense, energy, and economic policies.
By Roger N. McDermott (11/12/2008 issue of the CACI Analyst)
Russian military reform plans have been adjusted as a result of the Georgia war. However, these early ‘lessons learned’ may only result in some minor modifications to overall reform plans.
By Erica Marat (11/12/2008 issue of the CACI Analyst)
In the coming years the countries of the Syr Darya basin (including upstream Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan and downstream Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan) face the task of finding a common water regime in order to tackle growing energy and water demands as well as avert future crises of poor inter-state coordination of water resources. Any effort to facilitate cooperation and better management of water in the region by the international community, however, are stalled by the Central Asian governments’ unwillingness to compromise, inability to plan in the long-term, or their mere lack of knowledge of international law.
By Marlène Laruelle (11/12/2008 issue of the CACI Analyst)
In summer 2007, the American subprime crisis had an impact on the Kazakhstani real estate market, and then, in 2008, on its entire banking sector, which after Russia’s is the most developed in the CIS. This sector is facing major difficulties owing to its massive lending sprees in international financial markets and its overexposure to the real estate sector.
The Central Asia-Caucasus Analyst is a biweekly publication of the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute & Silk Road Studies Program, a Joint Transatlantic Research and Policy Center affiliated with the American Foreign Policy Council, Washington DC., and the Institute for Security and Development Policy, Stockholm. For 15 years, the Analyst has brought cutting edge analysis of the region geared toward a practitioner audience.
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