AZERBAIJAN’S DIVERSIFIED ENERGY SECURITY STRATEGY
By Gulmira Rzayeva (11/26/2009 issue of the CACI Analyst)
Due to its own energy resources and its indispensable geographic position between the oil and gas reserves of the Caspian Sea, Iran and Central Asia, Azerbaijan is successfully pursuing a diversified energy security strategy. It seeks to develop alternatives for delivering its gas to Russia and Iran along with an alternative route transporting gas to Europe through the Black Sea ports. By diversifying its own energy routes and markets, Azerbaijan is increasingly contributing to global energy security.
WHOSE CONDITIONALITY? THE FAILURE OF EU SANCTIONS ON UZBEKISTAN
By Andrea Schmitz (11/11/2009 issue of the CACI Analyst)
On October 27, the European Union at its General Affairs and External Relations Council Meeting in Luxembourg decided, as expected, not to renew the sanctions imposed on Uzbekistan in the aftermath of the Andijan uprising in 2005. Ultimately, the case has revealed a profound lack of strategic thinking on the side of the EU and recalls an important lesson for European diplomacy: that sanctions are an instrument for gaining compliance, and that the latter is a matter of leverage – for both sides involved.
BACKGROUND: In November 2005, the EU imposed sanctions on Uzbekistan in response to the Government´s reluctance to allow an independent investigation of the uprising in Andijan in May the same year, where reportedly hundreds of civilians were killed by security forces.
MIGRANTS’ REMITTANCES FARE BETTER THAN EXPECTED IN CENTRAL ASIA
By Erica Marat (11/11/2009 issue of the CACI Analyst)
In the fourth quarter of 2008, Tajikistan reported a sharp decline in remittances sent by labor migrants living in Russia and Kazakhstan. Many experts rushed to predict a massive return of migrants to Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan – all three being major migrant sending countries. But as recently released World Bank data show, while there was indeed a decline in remittances among Tajik migrants, the level of remittances increased in Kyrgyzstan.
THE ARMENIA-TURKEY PROTOCOLS: TACTICAL COOPERATION IN THE SHADOW OF EURASIAN STRATEGIC COMPETITION
By Roman Muzalevsky (11/11/2009 issue of the CACI Analyst)
It would have been difficult to imagine the signing of protocols on the normalization of Turkish-Armenian relations on October 10 without coinciding interests on the part of major stakeholders. While a testament to cooperation between the regional parties, the protocols are also a reflection of global and regional strategic competition in Eurasia among small, medium and great powers.
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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.