ABASHIDZE’S MULTIFACETED RUSSIAN LINKS AND AJARIA’S AUTONOMY
By Giorgi Vashakidze (3/10/2004 issue of the CACI Analyst)
BACKGROUND: Having been elected president of Georgia in January 2004 election, President Mikheil Saakashvili has a rare opportunity to implement democratic values and embark on proposals for the sustainable development of the country. One of his greatest challenges is to insure the country’s stability and society’s expectation after the revolution of November 2003. The election campaign was based on the promises of Georgia’s territorial restoration and fighting against deep-rooted corruption.GWADAR PORT NEARS COMPLETION, AHEAD OF TIME
By Rizwan Zeb (3/10/2004 issue of the CACI Analyst)
BACKGROUND: Pakistan and China signed the deal to build the $248 million deep-sea port on the Arabian Sea coast in Southern Baluchistan in 2002. The project was to be completed by March 2005. China provided $198 million in a mixture of soft loans and grants; Islamabad is paying the remaining 50 million.ANTI-DRUG EFFORTS OF KAZAKHSTAN: OLD METHODS IN NEW GARBS
By Marat Yermukanov (2/25/2004 issue of the CACI Analyst)
BACKGROUND: A recently released report of the Healthcare Ministry of Kazakhstan states that the number of officially registered drug users rose from 49,700 in 2002 to 52,800 in 2003. Non-government organizations call these statistics into question, suspecting that these figures are underreported. According to their estimates at least 350,000 people in Kazakhstan regularly use various kinds of drugs and intoxicating substances.FACING THE RUSSIAN RHETORIC IN EURASIA
By Ariel Cohen, Ph.D. (2/25/2004 issue of the CACI Analyst)
BACKGROUND: When Secretary of State Colin Powell landed in Moscow on Monday, January 26, after attending Mikheil Saakashvili’s inauguration, he was facing an atmosphere decisively different than the Georgian celebrations. Over the last several months, Russian leaders have sent signals indicating a less cooperative stance in the CIS. Defense Minister Sergey Ivanov has called 2004 a year to reassert Russia’s position in the CIS.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.