Field Reports
FALLOUT OF THE COLLECTIVE SECURITY TREATY YEREVAN SUMMIT
By Maria Utyaganova, student, International Relations, American University in Kyrgyzstan (6/20/2001 issue of the CACI Analyst)
Having experienced two Batken wars in the summers of 1999 and 2000, Kyrgyzstani officials have come to the conclusion that they can expect significant help from nowhere except Russia. Defense Minister Esen Topoev, cited in the newspaper Vechernii Bishkek, called Russia 'a main strategic partner', saying that Russia was the country that had provided the largest help during the recent wars. It seems that President Akaev, who was trying to sit on two chairs at once by flirting with both Russia and the West now counts on Putin's help more than on anybody else's.
KAZAKHSTAN UPDATES THE LAW ON RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
By Marat Yermukanov, Kazakhstan (6/20/2001 issue of the CACI Analyst)
The peaceful coexistence of the two mainstream religious trends in Kazakhstan, Islam and Christianity, is often held up by officials as a perfect model of spiritual harmony in a secular society. After independence, mosques and churches, Sunday schools and spiritual colleges have sprung up like mushrooms everywhere. Interestingly, many of the former atheistic communists have become deeply pious lately.
DIPLOMATIC TENSIONS BETWEEN AZERBAIJAN AND TURKMENISTAN
By Gulnara Ismayilova and Nailia Sohbetqizi (6/20/2001 issue of the CACI Analyst)
A new scandal seems to be in the making between the two Caspian littoral countries of Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan. The key theme of the contradictions remains the status of the Caspian Sea, especially some disputable oil fields there. The confusion regarding the Caspian's status has become the main reason for diplomatic tensions between Baku and Ashgabad.
GANGSTER WARS IN ABKHAZIA
By Maia Mindorashvili, a Tbilisi-based independent expert (6/20/2001 issue of the CACI Analyst)
Since Spring 2001 the representatives of the Russian "peacekeeping forces" have been acting in concert with Georgian and Abkhazian criminals to redistribute spheres of influence in Abkhazia. These key players need to keep a fragile "stability" in the Gali region of Southern Abkhazia, and to bring the region's Georgian population under absolute control. These intentions are well illustrated by the clashes that arose between criminals groups in April and May in Gali.
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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.