Category: Central Asia Program Series

China’s Economic Presence in Uzbekistan: Realities and Potentials

Uzbekistan Initiative Papers No. 5, February 2014 By Vladimir Paramonov From 2003 onwards China’s economic activity in Uzbekistan has become more visible. The deterioration of relations between Uzbekistan and the U.S./West in 2004-05 and the landmark… Continue reading China’s Economic Presence in Uzbekistan: Realities and Potentials

The Visa Regime in Uzbekistan: A Failed Attempt at Balancing Regime Interests and Freedom of Individuals

Central Asia Fellowship Paper No. 3, February 2014 By Yevgenia Pak Yevgeniya Pak received her degree in legal studies from Westminster University in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, before pursuing her professional career as a practicing… Continue reading The Visa Regime in Uzbekistan: A Failed Attempt at Balancing Regime Interests and Freedom of Individuals

Navro’z and the Renewal of Uzbek National Culture

Uzbekistan Initiative Papers No. 4, February 2014 By Laura L. Adams Navro’z is an important holiday in contemporary Uzbekistan not just because of its profound popularity, but also as an exemplary case of a broader… Continue reading Navro’z and the Renewal of Uzbek National Culture

Explaining Political Order in Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan Initiative Papers No. 3, February 2014 By Lawrence P. Markowitz Uzbekistan is regularly listed among the world’s weak states and it is often described as sitting on the threshold of state failure. Yet, Uzbekistan not… Continue reading Explaining Political Order in Uzbekistan

Flexibility or Strategic Confusion? Foreign Policy of Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan Initiative Papers No. 2, February 2014 By Farkhod Tolipov The foreign policy of the Republic of Uzbekistan has undergone dramatic fluctuations since gaining independence: from being pro-American to being pro-Russian and then back again. This… Continue reading Flexibility or Strategic Confusion? Foreign Policy of Uzbekistan

Kazakhstan’s National Development Strategies: An Assessment

Central Asia Policy Brief No. 14, December 2013 By Richard Weitz Kazakhstan-2050 strategy affirms the goal of making Kazakhstan, ranked as the world’s 51st most competitive country in 2012, among the 30 most advanced… Continue reading Kazakhstan’s National Development Strategies: An Assessment

Eurasian Integration: The Next Stage

Central Asia Policy Brief No. 13, December 2013 By Jeffrey Mankoff Both the structure of the planned Eurasian Economic Union and Moscow’s hardball tactics to persuade neighboring states to join suggest motivations beyond a… Continue reading Eurasian Integration: The Next Stage

Youth Radicalization in Tajikistan: Causes, Consequences, and Challenges to Address

Central Asia Fellowship Papers No. 2, October 2013 By Safovudin Jaborov Safovudin Jaborov is a Lecturer in the Department of Economics at the Russian-Tajik (Slavic) University in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. He also leads… Continue reading Youth Radicalization in Tajikistan: Causes, Consequences, and Challenges to Address

The Political Economy of Withdrawal and Transition in an Afghan Market Town

Central Asia Policy Brief No. 12, October 2013 By Noah Coburn While the international community focuses on national-level issues, many of the factors that will determine the future stability of Afghanistan are local. Many… Continue reading The Political Economy of Withdrawal and Transition in an Afghan Market Town

Regional Cooperation in Central Asia: Nurturing from the Ground Up

Central Asia Fellows Paper No. 1, October 2013 By Aitolkyn Kourmanova Aitolkyn Kourmanova is the head of the private consultancy Central Asia Strategic Management Group based in Almaty, Kazakhstan. She specializes in economic… Continue reading Regional Cooperation in Central Asia: Nurturing from the Ground Up

Educational Reforms in Turkmenistan: Good Framework, Bad Content?

Central Asia Policy Brief No. 11, September 2013 By Slavomír Horák Turkmenistan’s education system has gone through considerable changes and shifts in the last few years, with ambiguous results. The extension of elementary as… Continue reading Educational Reforms in Turkmenistan: Good Framework, Bad Content?

Eurasia 2014: Into Thin Air

Central Asia Policy Brief No. 10, June 2013 By Eric McGlinchey Factors that produce democracy can produce violence. Drivers of reform are also drivers of radicalism. Predictable indeterminacy is the surprising suddenness of protest… Continue reading Eurasia 2014: Into Thin Air