Washington Must Step Up Its Engagement in Central Asia

Recent unrest in Kazakhstan underscores the risks of ignoring the root causes of political instability in the region.

Relatives and people meet Kyrgyz troops, as they return from Kazakhstan, near the military unit in Tokmak some 60 kms from Bishkek, on January 14, 2022. – The decision to dispatch troops was a first for the Moscow-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), an alliance of ex-Soviet states often touted by Russia as a NATO equivalent, following an urgent plea from Kazakhstan’s leadership. (Photo by VYACHESLAV OSELEDKO / AFP) (Photo by VYACHESLAV OSELEDKO/AFP via Getty Images)

Originally published on Foreign Policy

By Beth Sanner and Sebastien Peyrouse

This month, protests in Kazakhstan sparked by a sharp increase in gas prices and caused by discontent with the government spread across the country. The unrest and the ensuing violence serve not only as a cautionary tale for other Central Asian countries but also as a wake-up call for the United States. Washington needs a more coherent and dynamic policy for the region, which lies at the crossroads of Russia and China and is more unstable than many outside observers understand. It is time for the United States to shift its approach and increase its engagement in Central Asia.

Although reliable information on exactly what happened in Kazakhstan and why may take some time to emerge, three significant implications are already clear. First, the eruption of regime-threatening unrest underscores the risk that further instability could catch Central Asian governments and the United States off guard. Despite their differences, the five landlocked former Soviet states—Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan—share an authoritarian and kleptocratic style of government, to varying degrees. Throughout Central Asia, political elites have prospered while average citizens struggle to obtain adequate health care, jobs, and education.