In the midst of the SCO's annual summit and the US Republican Party Presidential Convention both the New York Times and the International Herald Tribune found space on their front pages to discuss Tajikistan's water woes. Now we have discussed Tajikistan much recently, mainly because of its hosting of the SCO summit, and we have […]
Continuing yesterday's discussion of the SCO's joint declaration being very neutral when it came to defending Russia's future and past actions in Georgia; What does this mean for Russia? What does this say about China? And What does it show about the four Central Asian states in the group and their position in the world? […]
So the 8th annual Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit has begun. The meeting started this morning in Dushanbe, Tajikistan (though China and Tajikistan started bilateral talks days before) and features the head of states of all six members (I wonder if President Hu Jintao will be wearing all of China's 51 gold medals?), top officials from […]
The world is getting better, in some ways slowly, in other ways fast. What I mean by ‘better’ is a more safe and prosperous life for the average world citizen. But the world is also a very challenging place, and ripe with conflict, even in our ‘postmodern’ liberal-democracy-led 21st century. Two cases stemming from Afghanistan, […]
Good Friday, Friday Good. Today I want to take some time out and showcase some of the excellent work done by other FPA writers and bloggers that either directly or indirectly affect Central Asia, most involving the Georgia-Russia conflict. FPA contributer Marco Vicenzino has written two solid analyses of a Reassertive Russia Part I, Part […]
On July 22, just days before the Russian-Georgia conflict, US Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs Richard Boucher spoke before the OSCE Helsinki Commission regarding Kazakhstan's democratic and human rights progress before their scheduled 2010 OSCE Chairmanship. Before we get into how the US views their progress so far, it's never a bad […]
It's that time of year again. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization Annual Summit! The meeting will be held in Dushanbe, Tajikistan on August 28, and foreign ministers from all six of its member states have already concluded a meeting going over a few topics to be discussed at the larger summit. The group of ministers decided […]
Two interrelated items today for your viewing pleasure. Descent Into Chaos We have already discussed Ahmed Rashid's new book Descent into Chaos: The US and the Failure of Nation Building in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Central Asia, but in light of changing events, Musharraf's resignation (here is an editorial by Rashid about Musharraf's leaving), the worsening […]
For the past few months, the war in Afghanistan has been seen as the ‘Right War’ by the American politicians and media. John McCain and Barack Obama both have called for greater troop strength in the conflict and have shown unwavering support in the US/NATO mission there; to defeat the insurgency/Taliban and create a viable, […]
On this page, we have constantly debated between realist and idealist foreign policies regarding the West and Central Asia. The West's liberal/democratic rhetoric and policy of democracy promotion comes in stark contrast to Russia and China's movements throughout the world, and this is easily seen in Central Asia. In this same regard, we have discussed […]
Who's got a craving for some diplomacy?! I know I do. Here are a couple items of interest. Senate Majority leader Harry Reid and four other US senators are near the end of a diplomatic trip to Germany, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. This trip did not have quite the fan fare as Obama's recent overseas visit, […]
Thankfully, a cease-fire in the Russian-Georgian conflict over the South Ossetia and Abkhazia territories has been agreed upon by both states, unfortunately fighting still seems to be occurring in the Georgian city of Gori. The conflict in Georgia has ramifications in Central Asia and for its nations’ governments in many important ways. As former Soviet […]
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