Central Asia

Executive Summary A small group of Russian nationalists has been calling to “reclaim” Russia’s colonial territories since the Soviet Union collapsed in late 1991. After the Kremlin finally acted on these aspirations by invading parts of Ukraine, the number...

Introduction For much of the post–Cold War period, Central Asia was framed as a space of Sino-Russian coordination, institutionalized through the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and underwritten by a tacit division of labor: Russia provided security, and China delivered...

 Introduction Kyrgyzstan was once viewed as the “island of democracy “in Central Asia. That changed in the last five years due to the tandem of President Sadyr Japarov and head of the State Committee for National Security (GKNB) Kamchybek...

Not long after late 1991, when the Soviet Union collapsed and Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan became independent, illegal narcotics trafficking started through the region, mainly coming from drug-producing countries in South Asia, particularly Afghanistan, and being smuggled...

Introduction The Ferghana Valley has been the most restive area in Central Asia since the five Central Asian states became independent after the collapse of the Soviet Union in late 1991. Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan each have sections of...

The lives of Central Asian migrant laborers in Russia have become much worse since the terrorist attack on Moscow’s Crocus City Hall on March 22, 2024, that left more than 140 people dead. Prior to that attack, these migrant...

Since Vladimir Putin launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine and invited the largest international sanctions regime against Russia since the Second World War, Central Asia and the Caucasus have been forced into an uncomfortable position at the front of...

Tajikistan’s policies toward neighboring Taliban-ruled Afghanistan are reaching a pivotal moment. Tajik President Emomali Rahmon and his government have always viewed the Taliban as a threat, and that position has not changed since the Taliban returned to power in...

  Concerns about Islamic extremism are rising in Central Asia. None of the governments in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, or Uzbekistan are commenting publicly about any specific threats. Still, there is a lot of activity aimed at controlling how...

    “It was the rise of Athens and the fear that this inspired in Sparta that made war inevitable.” Thucydides, 5th Century BCE   Since the days of Thucydides, scholars have written about—and policymakers have wrestled with—the dangers...