Central Asia: Managing the delicate balance between the “discourse of danger,” the “Great Game,” and regional problem solving

Abstract

This article concludes this special issue of Communist and Post-Communist Studies by summarizing the various contributions and noting their commonalties as well as dissimilarities. The primary themes are the various problems in need of solution in Central Asia and the surrounding “neighborhood” (e.g., Afghanistan), including identity-driven conflicts and various ways of handling them. The article reaches out from the academic researchers who have contributed the articles, to policymakers, especially in the U.S., who may be concerned with identifying and solving the problems of Central Asia and its neighborhood, noting the “unintended consequences” that may befall them for what they do or do not do in the region.