Dagestan: Local Leader To Select Format For Gubernatorial Elections
by Kevin Daniel Leahy (04/03/2013 issue of the CACI Analyst)
In light of the mass anti-government street protests witnessed by Moscow in late 2011, Russia’s then-President, Dmitri Medvedev, proposed introducing a system whereby regional governors would be selected by way of popular elections. This proposal raised the specter of direct gubernatorial elections taking place in regional jurisdictions throughout the Russian Federation for the first time since 2004. But while there is a possibility that eligible voters in many of these regions will henceforth be allowed to cast their ballots for the candidate of their choosing, it seems that voters in the North Caucasus, specifically those in the republic of Dagestan, will be denied this opportunity.
Turkmenistan Sets Ambitious Production Targets Amidst Bleak Gas Sale Prospects
by Tavus Rejepova (04/03/2013 issue of the CACI Analyst)
High level government officials from Turkmenistan’s oil and gas sector have announced that the country plans to produce 250 billion cubic meters (bcm) and export 200 bcm of natural gas per year by 2030. Yet, while these highly ambitious production figures and several events in Europe, Asia, and Middle East to promote investment in Turkmenistan’s energy sector over the past six months demonstrate the government’s optimism, western energy companies are increasingly wary of the country’s energy export plans and the future of large-scale projects such as the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) pipeline.
Will The U.S. And Uzbekistan Revisit Their Strategic Partnership
by Farkhod Tolipov (03/20/2013 issue of the CACI Analyst)
On March 12, 2002, the U.S. and Uzbekistan signed a Declaration on Strategic Partnership and Cooperation Framework. The USUSP (U.S.-Uzbekistan Strategic Partnership) came about in the context of 9/11 and the launch of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. In the eleven years that have passed since the establishment of these bilateral relations, the relationship has seen several ups and downs, testing the commitment of both sides to the letter and spirit of the Declaration. On March 12, 2013, Uzbekistan’s Foreign Minister visited Washington and met with the new U.S. Secretary of State. What are the prospects for reestablishing the strategic partnership?
The International Dimension Of Georgia's Domestic Infighting
by Niklas Nilsson (03/20/2013 issue of the CACI Analyst)
Georgia’s cohabitation process following the October 2012 elections seems increasingly dysfunctional, as the political parties of the President and Prime Minister have failed to cooperate on most issues. While Georgia’s general foreign policy direction remains a rare topic of consensus, the mutual distrust in domestic politics is increasingly also visible in Georgia’s foreign policy, as President Saakashvili and Prime Minister Ivanishvili and their associates compete for international attention to their respective narratives of developments in Georgia. While this tendency can be considered a logical continuation of the election campaign of last year, it also tests the patience of Georgia’s international partners in a situation where Georgia badly needs to reassert confidence in its political process.
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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.