Transition and Regional Cooperation in Central Asia: What Can They Tell Us about the(Post-)Liberal World Order?

Abstract

In recent years, the Central Asian countries (CACs) have received increasing attention from international research and political communities. After gaining independence in 1991, the CACs went through diverse processes of political and economic transformations. However, the political and economic evolutions of these countries diverged substantially from what the Western community expected, especially in terms of regional economic cooperation. This article contends that the Central Asian countries have never been part of the currently decomposing system of liberal hegemony. Instead, they have followed divergent paths of transition, which have hindered regional and international cooperation. Additionally, during recent years, the region has become a complex arena in which national goals coexist with the interests of the major regional powers, Russia and China. Therefore, the evolution of the Central Asian countries over the last decades provides an example of the varied and complex nature of regionalism in a post-liberal world. This article uses an international political economy approach to address the complex interaction between the economic and political fields, both locally and internationally.