CHALLENGES AHEAD FOR ILHAM ALIYEV, AZERBAIJAN’S NEW PRIME MINISTER
By Svante E. Cornell (8/13/2003 issue of the CACI Analyst)
BACKGROUND: Ilham Aliyev has long been groomed for the Presidency in Azerbaijan. His appointment to the positions of first deputy chairman of the ruling New Azerbaijan Party, first vice president of the state oil company (SOCAR), president of the National Olympic Committee, and Member of Parliament and head of the Azerbaijani delegation to the Council of Europe indicated that President Aliyev was creating opportunities for his son to gain experience in state management and expand his networking both in the international arena and within the ruling elite. Indeed, within ten years of Aliyev’s Presidency, Ilham transformed from an unknown person to many in the country to one of the key leaders in the government.TALIBAN ATTACKS INTENSIFY IN AFGHANISTAN
By Rahimullah Yusufzai (8/13/2003 issue of the CACI Analyst)
BACKGROUND: By retreating from major cities instead of putting up a last stand in late 2001, the Taliban were able to save most of their fighters and hide away some of their weapons –a wise move, since the Taliban could have faced decimation at the hands of the superior fighting machines of the U.S..RADICAL ISLAMIZATION IN XINJIANG – LESSONS FROM CHECHNYA?
By Matthew Oresman and Daniel Steingart (7/30/2003 issue of the CACI Analyst)
BACKGROUND: Islam came to Chechnya only 300 years ago, as the Russian Empire was expanding south in the Caucasus Mountains, and spread quickly through Chechnya and Ingushetia. It was soon capitalized upon as a vehicle of mobilization against Russian rule. The Islam that took hold in Chechnya was primarily Sufi, a spiritual Islam that blended well with the Chechens’ own native beliefs and not the austere Wahhabism primarily associated with Saudi Arabia and radical Islamist movements.CHINA’S WATER POLICIES: IMPLICATIONS FOR XINJIANG AND KAZAKHSTAN
By Eric Hagt (7/30/2003 issue of the CACI Analyst)
BACKGROUND: Beijing’s White Paper on Xinjiang, released in May of this year, calls for a continuation of the ambitious 1999 strategic campaign to ‘Develop the West’. Key implications of that policy include the continued expansion of cotton growing and energy exploitation. Both are vital industries for Xinjiang’s development and yet both create a demand for water that is unsustainable in a region that already shows signs of environmental strain.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.