Central Asia

What's driving China's outreach to Central Asia in 2023?

It is difficult to disentangle the political choices made by Central Asian leaders to attend Moscow’s parade this year from the ongoing war in Ukraine.

In its latest annual report, USCIRF recommends designating Tajikistan and Turkmenistan as "countries of particular concern" and asks for Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan to be included on the special watch list for religious freedom violators.

The Afghanistan issue gives Moscow another reason to remain closely engaged in the security affairs of Central Asia.

The Qosh Tepa canal issue essentially forces the Central Asian nations in the Amu Darya basin to make tradeoffs between regional instability and internal instability.

Usmanov was personally sanctioned shortly after the invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022, but new sanctions target his “wide network of businesses.”

Russia's efforts to establish "regional air defense systems" within the existing CIS joint air defense system are not new.

The region needs to overcome four key structural challenges: lack of access to the sea, low level of development of the financial sector, lack of water and energy coordination, and climate change.

A U.S. Senate subcommittee recently explored U.S. policy toward Central Asia amid the war in Ukraine and intense concern about global energy security.

Several Central Asians report being turned away recently at the Georgian border with no detailed explanation. 

Central Asian governments must do more to provide a robust response to domestic violence, equal protection to survivors of abuse, and protect women’s rights both in policy and practice.