THE CURRENT SPAT WITH RUSSIA HAS GEORGIA UNDER A CLOUD—WITH A SILVER LINING, PERHAPS
By Peter Laurens (11/15/2006 issue of the CACI Analyst)
BACKGROUND: Although Georgia’s \"Rose Revolution\" occurred only three years ago, in November 2003, many positive results are already visible, especially as concern foreign investment and the overall perception of the country among multinational policymaking bodies. The new government has made concrete progress towards meeting international standards not only in terms of political governance, such as in its anti-crime and -corruption drive, but in terms of economic modernization. For example, over these three years, the government has cut red tape for businesses, overhauled the tax code and abolished most customs duties.THE COLLAPSE OF PUBLIC SERVICE AND KYRGYZSTAN’S ENDEMIC INSTABILITY
By Rafis Abazov (11/15/2006 issue of the CACI Analyst)
BACKGROUND: The ineffectiveness of the public services in independent Kyrgyzstan is in sharp contrast to the experience of the Soviet era. Then, ordinary people received their salaries and pensions in time, law and order was enforced effectively if not brutally, and comprehensive welfare and healthcare systems provided services to ordinary people. These public goods were delivered by a distant cousin of the public service – the Soviet nomenklatura – that was created in the country under Stalin’s motto “The cadres determine everything!” in the 1930s and 1940s.KYRGYZSTAN’S WEAKNESS AND CENTRAL ASIA’S INSECURITY
By Stephen Blank (11/1/2006 issue of the CACI Analyst)
BACKGROUND:Constitutional reform has not taken place, corruption and criminality is rampant and opposition leaders, no doubt aggrieved at their being left out of the spoils, complain that Bakiyev and Kulov have followed in Askar Akayev’s footsteps as president by assigning choice economic plums to members of their families. Economically, as well, the country is not able to make major progress and the Russian economic presence has grown as Moscow has sought to help Kyrgyzstan overcome its crippling debts and backwardness which are exacerbated by a lack of exportable natural resources. Since the Tulip Revolution in March 2005, many of the hopes generated by that event have dissipated.SALVAGING THE NORTH CAUCASUS BY INVESTMENTS: SURKOV’S LEAP OF LOGIC
By Kevin Daniel Leahy (11/1/2006 issue of the CACI Analyst)
BACKGROUND:During the course of an interview with the German magazine Der Spiegel in mid-2005, Russia’s deputy presidential chief of staff, Vladislav Surkov, expounded on the challenges facing his administration in the North Caucasus. Specifically, he identified the creation of jobs, the development of educational opportunities, and the advancement of youth outreach programs as priority tasks. Although this particular interview did not explain how Surkov and his colleagues planned to address these outstanding issues, a speech he subsequently made to a gathering of Russian businesspeople proved rather more revealing.Visit also
Staff Publications
Silk Road Paper S. Frederick Starr, Greater Central Asia as A Component of U.S. Global Strategy, October 2024.
Analysis Laura Linderman, "Rising Stakes in Tbilisi as Elections Approach," Civil Georgia, September 7, 2024.
Analysis Mamuka Tsereteli, "U.S. Black Sea Strategy: The Georgian Connection", CEPA, February 9, 2024.
Silk Road Paper Svante E. Cornell, ed., Türkiye's Return to Central Asia and the Caucasus, July 2024.
Book Svante E. Cornell, ed., "The Changing Geopolitics of Central Asia and the Caucasus" AFPC Press/Armin LEar, 2023.
Silk Road Paper Svante E. Cornell and S. Frederick Starr, Stepping up to the “Agency Challenge”: Central Asian Diplomacy in a Time of Troubles, July 2023.
Silk Road Paper S. Frederick Starr, U.S. Policy in Central Asia through Central Asian Eyes, May 2023.