Baikonur And Russia's Declining Clout In Kazakhstan
by Dmitry Shlapentokh (02/20/2013 issue of the CACI Analyst)
In 2011, Kazakhstan’s President expressed strong support for Vladimir Putin’s initiative of creating a Eurasian Union. In fact, Nursultan Nazarbaev himself presented similar ideas almost 20 years ago. While Putin sees the new Eurasian Union as a Russia-centered geopolitical entity with exclusive ties between Russia and other members, Kazakhstan regards its relationship with Russia as just one among several others. Kazakhstan is actually distancing itself from Moscow, which has increasingly lost its attraction as a center of science and technology for Kazakhstan’s elite. One indication is Astana’s decision to phase out Moscow’s control over the Baikonur Cosmodrome.
Dagestan's Commission For Rehabilitation Of Rebel Fighters: A Failed Experiment?
by Huseyn Aliyev (the 02/20/2013 issue of the CACI Analyst)
The escalation of insurgency-related violence in Dagestan, in conjunction with the authorities’ inability to deal with the increase in militant attacks, led the Dagestani government to establish in 2010 a commission aimed at rehabilitating rebel fighters. Yet, despite scores of processed applications and a number of successful cases claimed by the commission, conflict-related violence continues to increase in Dagestan. Created by the government of Dagestan as the first effort to implement a “soft” form of counter-insurgency, the rehabilitation commission nevertheless lacks legal and social mechanisms to ensure fair treatment of former militants and to re-settle them in civilian life.
Pakistan and Afghanistan Beyond 2014
PAKISTAN AND AFGHANISTAN BEYOND 2014
by Rizwan Zeb (the 02/06/2013 issue of the CACI Analyst)
Pakistan understands and realizes that a stable Afghanistan is key to its own stability. A number of issues are of crucial importance for the improvement of Pakistan-Afghanistan relations: the Durand line, the return of Afghan refugees, the Indian presence in Afghanistan, and the implementation of various pipeline projects transporting Central Asian oil and gas through Gwadar. Above all, Pakistan wants a stable and friendly Afghanistan which does not pose a threat or allow any other state to use its territory against Pakistan. After 2014, will Pakistan and Afghanistan develop a neighborly relationship or will Afghanistan become another theatre for India-Pakistan rivalry?
Pakistan Hands Over Development of Gwadar Port to China
PAKISTAN HANDS OVER DEVELOPMENT OF GWADAR PORT TO CHINA
by Naveed Ahmad (02/06/2013 issue of the CACI Analyst)
Pakistan has handed over the management of its southeastern Gwadar deep-sea port to the China Overseas Port Holdings after failing to turn the strategically located port into a financial success. With an outpost on the entry to the risk-prone Strait of Hormuz, China not only secures its petroleum supply through the shortest land route but also mounts a challenge to the U.S. and India in the Arabian Sea. Pakistan’s reliance on China as a partner has increased significantly during its post-9/11 engagement with the U.S. While Islamabad seems relieved by its belated act, Beijing seems to shift some pressure it has been withstanding in South China Sea.
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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.