Happy Memorial Day to all those who have put their lives on the line for their respective nation and people. I was going to discuss the latest Freedom House Media Report, but was having problems accessing their website. Maybe Kazakhstan's government has gotten to them too! Expect this tomorrow or soon after. Kyrg seismic activity […]
Let's join the club! Unfortunately, a definitive majority of news I report on and discuss on this blog is of the negative kind. It does them a true adage that good news is not really news people tend to be drawn to. I looked at many of the reports, articles, and other blog topic ideas […]
About a month ago we discussed the implications for new Russian presidency of Dmitry Medvedev for Central Asia, Russian domestic politics, and the world in general. Would Medvedev be Putin's puppet? Would he be a liberalizer? What could we expect from him regarding relations between Russia and the Central Asian states? We are about to […]
Afghan's culture and societal battles are of utmost important in the overall fight for the country's future, but the Afghan and NATO armies are still the key-holders to success on all fronts. Their ability to stand up or stand down against the Taliban and other insurgent forces will be a crucial determining factor as the […]
There are many fronts to all wars and the ongoing conflict in Afghanistan is no different. NATO forces have supreme firepower to use against the Taliban insurgents, but this alone cannot defeat them and secure a safe and free nation. The Karzai government needs to produce good governance for its peoples and a civil society […]
To offer some sweet relief for your Monday blues, here's some Central Asian geopolitical analytical madness! A couple of weeks ago we discussed the EU's attempts at diversifying CA gas exports to circumvent Russian territory and influence, mainly in Turkmenistan. In addition, on this blog we have talked about China and India's growing role in […]
The world has been facing some tough days recently. Burma's tsunami, western China's earthquake, and the continual rising of food prices has wreaked havoc on many of the world's poorest people. As has been discussed earlier, food prices have been escalating in Central Asis for months now and show no signs of slowing. These rising […]
Just a quick one today folks. If you haven't checked it out yet, make sure to take a look at the post on May 11 ‘A Autocratic Dawn’, I think it raises an important issue that will and has affected CA and the world. EurasiaNet has written a scathing report chronicling the Tajikistan government's voluntary […]
Just as I opine about a growing autocratic threat to the world liberal system I want to introduce a report by the Brookings Institution analyzing weak states, many of which consist of authoritative leadership. Of course yesterday's discussion centered on the Great Powers of China and Russia who do not fair prominently on this list, […]
Robert Kagan, a neoconservative policy analyst and one of presidential candidate John McCain's foreign policy advisors, has a new book warning that the West and its present leading liberal international system has a legitimate challenger in authoritarian Great Powers Russia and China and their alternative political system. Read a brief excerpt of 'the Return of […]
A while back we discussed an upcoming major AIDS conference in Moscow, well the event has arrived and it comes with some positive news. It was the largest Eastern Europe/Central Asia conference ever held and lasted for three days. Around 2,000 participants from over 50 nations took part to assess regional achievements, share results and […]
Richard Boucher, Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asia gave his ‘The Year Ahead in South and Central Asia‘ news conference a little late this year. Boucher spoke on many topics, which I will break down below, and overall he stated that there's a ‘new sense of momentum and a new sense of energy’ in […]
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