Upcoming Events – Central Asia Program

Online Event Tuesday, April 30, 2024 from 10:00-11:00 am EDT In November 2024, the UN Climate Change Conference (COP29) will be held in Baku, Azerbaijan, marking the third year in…

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Between Allies and Adversaries: Assessing Iran’s Stand on Armenia and Azerbaijan

16 April, 2024

Online Event Monday, April 22, 2024 from 11:00am – 12:15pm EDT In the South Caucasus, Iran grapples with its relationships with Armenia and Azerbaijan amid regional power dynamics. Concerns about…

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A Slow Reckoning: The USSR, the Afghan Communists, and Islam

4 April, 2024

Online Event Tuesday, April 9, 2024 from 10:00-11:00am EDT Vassily Klimentov will be discussing his book, A Slow Reckoning: The USSR, the Afghan Communists, and Islam, published by Northern Illinois University Press…

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Annual Security Workshop: Navigating Global Turbulence: Building Resilience in Central Asia

21 March, 2024

In-Person Event Thursday, March 28, 2024 from 8:45 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. (EDT) Central Asia is at a pivotal point, facing significant geopolitical, economic, and environmental challenges that could have…

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Navigating Turmoil: The Dynamics of Armenian-Azerbaijani Relations in 2024

8 March, 2024

Online Event Thursday, March 14, 2024 from 11:00am – 12:15pm Nearly six months since the end of the Third Karabakh War, tensions persist along the Armenia-Azerbaijan borders as both nations…

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Navigating the New Energy Geopolitics: Assessing Russia’s Power Play in Central Asia’s Post-2022 Gas Crisis

7 March, 2024

Hybrid Event Friday, March 8, 2024 from 10:00 – 11:30am The disruption of Russian gas supplies in 2022 sparked a profound reappraisal of supply and infrastructure dependencies beyond the EU-Russia…

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Exploring the Dynamics of Open Government in Kazakhstan: A Critical Assessment of Tokayev’s “Listening State” Reform

4 March, 2024

Image from Kazakhstan’s Presidential Press Service Online Event In March 2019, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev assumed the presidency through a meticulously orchestrated succession, pledging to advance political liberalization and foster greater responsiveness…

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Central Asia: Multi-Vector Policy for the 21st Century – Strategy and Development

4 March, 2024

Hybrid Event Wednesday, March 6th, 2024 from 10:00am-2:00pm Central Asia’s multi-vector approach to diplomacy has long been a cornerstone of its foreign policy, playing a prominent role in regional discussions.…

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Central Asian Regionalism: Insights from Inside and Out

26 February, 2024

Hybrid Event Since the dawn of independence, the five post-Soviet Central Asian republics have identified themselves as a single political region. However, their separate efforts to shape national identities, institutions,…

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The 80th Anniversary of the Chechen and Ingush Deportation: What is its legacy today?

23 February, 2024

Virtual EventTuesday, February 27, 2024 from 10:00-11:00am Join us for a discussion organized by the Central Asia Program at The George Washington University to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the…

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Central Asia’s Aral Sea: Lessons for Today’s Climate Crisis

4 December, 2023

Hybrid Event, Image by NASA Earth Observatory December 11, 9:00 am – 10:30 am (EST) Once one of the world’s largest inland bodies of water, the Aral Sea began to shrink…

Fully equipped police above a row of peaceful protesters holding a banner: We are ordinary citizens, not terrorists

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Kazakhstan’s Bloody January: Protest Motivations, Public Perceptions and Human Rights

29 November, 2023

Online discussion co-organized by the PaperLab Research Center (Astana, Kazakhstan). Image provided by PaperLab.kz. Thursday, December 7, 2023, 9:00 am – 10:30 am EST In the first days of 2022,…

Flags of Azerbaijan and Armenia with a tank and soulders under them

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Armenia-Azerbaijan Relations after the Third Karabakh War

23 November, 2023

Virtual Seminar, image by Arzu Geybulla December 4, 2023 @ 12:00–1:15 p.m. (EST) The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict reached a dramatic end on September 19, 2023, when the Azerbaijani military ended the self-proclaimed…

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Researching Central Asia. Navigating Positionality in the Field

20 November, 2023

Virtual Roundtable December 12, 2023 @ 10:00 am – 11:30 am EST Researching Central Asia can be interesting, entertaining, life-changing, traumatizing and, at the very least, thought provoking. The way…

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Cross-Border Relations between Central Asia and Afghanistan in the Taliban Era

12 October, 2023

Online event co-sponsored by The Kennan Institute October 26, 2023 10:00 a.m. – 11:15 a.m. (EDT) The border areas between the Central Asian states and Afghanistan have often been portrayed…

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Central Asian Outlook: The Intersection of Trade and Culture

18 September, 2023

Book talk with author Juneyoung Lee October 31, 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM (EDT) Hybrid Event In this hybrid event Dr. Juneyoung Lee will explore the intricate dynamics between trade…

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Uzbekistan’s Independence Day Concert

28 August, 2023

SAFO Ensemble and Sabina Mustaeva (in-person event) Thursday, September 7, 2023 6:00 PM (EDT) Auditorium 113, Elliott School of International Affairs, 1957 E Street, NW Washington, DC 20052 In celebration of the Independence…

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Nuclear and Biological Nonproliferation: Lessons from Kazakhstan and Central Asia

22 August, 2023

Online event September 5, 2023, 9:00 am – 10:30 am EDT Stronger than Death memorial, Semei, Kazakhstan. Image Source: astanatimes.com In a world increasingly defined by bellicose rhetoric, nuclear nonproliferation…

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Central Asia: A Loophole for Russia’s Sanctions?

8 August, 2023

Online event August 23 @ 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM EST Russia is facing unprecedented economic and political sanctions from the United States and its allies over its invasion of Ukraine. However, Moscow has…

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Bolashak Fellows Summer Conference 2023

18 July, 2023

July 27, 2023 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. (EDT) Hybrid Event Venue: Lindner Family Commons, 6th floor GW’s Elliott School of International Affairs, 1957 E St NW, Washington, 20052 or Join…

book cover - red star and the title, name of the author

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Intermarriage and Ethnic Mixing in Soviet Central Asia

5 May, 2023

Book talk with author Adrienne Edgar, discussant Dmitry Gorenburg, and moderator Mélanie Sadozaï (virtual event) May 24 @ 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM Join us for a presentation of Adrienne Edgar’s book Intermarriage and the Friendship of…