THE BENEFITS OF NEGOTIATING WITH MODERATE TALIBAN LEADERS
By Haroun Mir (4/19/2007 issue of the CACI Analyst)
Recently, important international and local players in the Afghan political arena have brought up the prospect of talks with moderate Taliban leaders. President Hamid Karzai has publicly announced that he has been in contact for some time with Taliban representatives. Also, a number of political and military experts from NATO countries are increasingly favoring dialogue with moderate Taliban figures.
BERDYMUKHAMMEDOV BURNISHES MUSLIM CREDENTIALS ON VISIT TO SAUDI ARABIA
By Christopher Boucek (4/19/2007 issue of the CACI Analyst)
On April 16th, recently elected Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov concluded a four-day visit to Saudi Arabia, his first trip abroad as head of state. It is noteworthy—albeit not entirely surprising—that Berdymukhammedov’s first foreign destination was Saudi Arabia, and not Moscow or Beijing. The trip was focused on two objectives: bolstering the president’s Muslim credentials and expanding bilateral cooperation and investment in the Turkmen energy sector.
ARMENIA GEARS UP FOR PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS
By Grigor Hakobyan (4/19/2007 issue of the CACI Analyst)
Parliamentary elections will be held in Armenia on May 12, 2007. The opposition parties have yet again found themselves unable to unite around common candidates or develop effective campaign platforms to rally people around themselves. They fail to pose a substantial challenge to the ruling coalition government.
KYRGYZSTAN’S CRIPPLED CONSTITUIONAL COURT
By Joldosh Osmonov and Nurshat Ababakirov (4/19/2007 issue of the CACI Analyst)
Given the vibrant opposition’s fervor to limit the President’s power through constitutional reforms, and the President’s stubborn determination to oppose that, the Kyrgyz Constitution appears a victim of the belligerent sides. Both opposition and pro-government parliamentarians ignored the voice of the Constitutional Court, which was to give a permission to consider the amendments, in November and December 2006. As an institution that should be at the center of the constitutional discussions, it remains highly constrained by the interests of some politicians and being used as a tool to delay constitutional reforms.
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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.