Published in Feature Articles

Svante E. Cornell

October 24, 2023

Almost four years have passed since President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev embarked upon an agenda to bring thorough reforms to Kazakhstan’s politics and society. This article looks at the process of implementation of these reforms in a highly precarious geopolitical environment, where Russia’s war in Ukraine has led to increasing threats to Kazakhstan’s integrity by leading Russian figures. This analysis shows that Kazakhstan has proceeded on institutional reform, including modest but meaningful steps in sensitive areas such as separation of powers and electoral systems.  

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Published in Feature Articles

Svante E. Cornell and Brenda Shaffer

October 17, 2023

Major recent shifts, starting with the Taliban victory in Afghanistan and Russia’s war in Ukraine have led to a resurgence of the Trans-Caspian transportation corridor. This corridor, envisioned in the 1990s, has been slow to come to fruition, but has now suddenly found much- needed support. The obstacles to a rapid expansion of the corridor’s capacity are nevertheless considerable, given the underinvestment in its capacity over many years.  

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Published in Feature Articles

By Mamuka Tsereteli

September 15, 2023

Connectivity is a strategic value for the landlocked countries of Central Asia and the South Caucasus. The energy and general cargo transit between the Caspian Basin and Central Asia and the Black Sea and Europe is already significant and plays an important role in the functioning of the regional economy. But the transit potential of the region is still not fully utilized, affected by geopolitical and infrastructure constraints. Strong leadership and continuous intense coordination between state and private actors will be required to address existing bottlenecks in the transportation system, and to increase commercial attractiveness of the transit corridor.

  

 

 

 

 

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Published in Feature Articles

By Sergi Kapanadze

 

  

March 28, 2022

 

The recent civil protests against the draft law on “agents of foreign influence” in Georgia raisedserious questions about the country’s European aspirations. German Foreign minister Annalena Boerbock, who visited Tbilisi on March 23-24, first met with the Georgian civil society to underline her support to NGOs, which had just won a round against the Government of Georgia. Indeed, Georgia is at a crossroads, as many times before; however, this time, ruling oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili is close to undertaking a u-turn that would distance Georgia from the Westand put in Moscow’s lap. It is comparable to what Viktor Yanukovich unsuccessfully tried to doin 2013 in Ukraine. However, unlike Ukraine, Georgia’s u-turn is longer, more fundamentaland covertly implemented. The March 6-9 public protests prevented Georgian Dream from passing the Russian-type law, but the u-turn is still underway and in full gear.

  

 

 

 

 

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Staff Publications

  

2410Starr-coverSilk Road Paper S. Frederick Starr, Greater Central Asia as A Component of U.S. Global Strategy, October 2024. 

Analysis Laura Linderman, "Rising Stakes in Tbilisi as Elections Approach," Civil Georgia, September 7, 2024.

Analysis Mamuka Tsereteli, "U.S. Black Sea Strategy: The Georgian Connection", CEPA, February 9, 2024. 

Silk Road Paper Svante E. Cornell, ed., Türkiye's Return to Central Asia and the Caucasus, July 2024. 

ChangingGeopolitics-cover2Book Svante E. Cornell, ed., "The Changing Geopolitics of Central Asia and the Caucasus" AFPC Press/Armin LEar, 2023. 

Silk Road Paper Svante E. Cornell and S. Frederick Starr, Stepping up to the “Agency Challenge”: Central Asian Diplomacy in a Time of Troubles, July 2023. 

Screen Shot 2023-05-08 at 10.32.15 AM

Silk Road Paper S. Frederick Starr, U.S. Policy in Central Asia through Central Asian Eyes, May 2023.



 

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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