Role In Central Asia Research Articles

THE ROLE OF TRANSPORT CORRIDORS IN STRENGTHENING IRANIAN REGIONAL COOPERATION IN CENTRAL ASIA

The role of transport corridors in strengthening regional cooperation in Centra l Asia is critical, especially in the context of Iran's evolving foreign policy. Amidst the backdrop of the Russian-Ukrainian confrontation and the expansion of major infrastructure projects like the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC), Iran's strategic initiatives in Central Asia have gained prominence. This article aims to explore how transport corridors can enhance Iran's regional influence and cooperation with Central Asian countries. The main question addressed is: how do these transport corridors contribute to regiona l stability and economic integration? The hypothesis is that Iran's active participation in developing these corridors, particularly through key projects like the Chabahar Port, not only boosts trade and connectivity but also counters geopolitica l isolation and fosters long-term regional cooperation. The research utilizes the theory of regional integration and interdependence, supported by qualitative content analysis of documents, texts, and expert interviews related to regional transport strategies.The findings indicate that efficient transport infrastructure is fundamental for economic development and political stability in Central Asia. Iran's collaboration with Russia and China further amplifies the benefits of these corridors, providing a strategic counterbalance to Western influence. Ultimately, the study highlights that Iran's role in Central Asia is pivotal for broader regional integration and sustainable development.

Stability Maintenance and the ‘Three Evils’: Framing China’s Role in Central Asia

ABSTRACT This article analyzes 430 security-related press releases from meetings between officials from China and the Central Asian republics between 1991 to January 2023 to examine how its threat perceptions have evolved. First, China’s focus on the Three Evil Forces (terrorism, extremism, separatism) has won its support and cooperation from regimes across the region. Second, China has advanced a number of new security concepts over the years, most recently the Global Security Initiative. Each of these concepts, as well as frameworks such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and China + Central Asia, advance China’s vision of a multipolar world order in which universal values are replaced with adherence to state sovereignty and cultural relativism. This article argues that China’s securitized approach to regional foreign policy-making has helped coordinate local responses to disparate challenges while granting them political buy-in and support to mobilize state resources to promote regime stability.

Transboundary water management in Kyrgyzstan: International law aspects

This article explores the intricate dynamics of international water management, focusing on Kyrgyzstan's pivotal role in Central Asia's water resource distribution. It begins by highlighting global water scarcity issues and emphasizes the growing importance of international water law and liability for transboundary harm. Employing a range of scientific methodologies, the study delves into historical contexts, including Soviet-era water management initiatives and subsequent challenges post-dissolution. It elucidates the establishment of river basin organizations and the complexities of inter-state agreements and disagreements. The discussion section offers diverse perspectives on key issues such as equitable resource allocation and infrastructure maintenance costs, drawing from expert opinions and scholarly insights. Recent positive developments in interstate relations, particularly between Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, regarding water resource management agreements are highlighted. In conclusion, the article advocates for bilateral agreements and regional cooperation to address water-related conflicts, proposing the potential creation of a supranational organization akin to the European Coal and Steel Community. Such initiatives aim to ensure equitable and sustainable water resource management while fostering economic cooperation in the region.

Connecting the two Easts: Central Asian cultural diplomats and Soviet Internationalism of the late Stalinist era, 1947–1950

Central Asia’s interactions with regions outside the Soviet borders during the Cold War have been largely ignored, despite evidence of the vital role it played in Soviet engagement with decolonising nations in Asia, as a model for a developed, decolonized, socialist nation. Central Asia was essential to Soviet cultural diplomacy, as Moscow sought to establish an anti-imperialist alliance with decolonizing countries in Asia and Africa. This paper begins its discussion with the Soviet participation in the 1947 Asian Relations Conference held in Delhi, which marked the first post-WWII occasion in which the socialist republics in Central Asia and the Caucasus represented the Soviet Union abroad. The paper explores the implications of this encounter on the Soviet interpretation of post-WWII Asia and the role of Central Asia in promoting anti-imperialist solidarity domestically and internationally. It also focuses on travel accounts of Tursun-zade and Oybek (Musa Toshmuhammad oʻgʻli), two prominent Central Asian writers who visited India and Pakistan as a part of the Soviet cultural delegates abroad. The writers utilized historical, cultural, and religious symbolism that resonated with the Central Asian population to foster connections between Moscow and Asia, localizing Soviet internationalism and creating a unique identity for Central Asia as the mediator between the Soviet centre (Moscow) and (South) Asia beyond the Soviet borders. By examining how Asia beyond the borders were depicted and how post-WWII Soviet internationalism discourse were integrated into the late-Stalinist republican literature, this paper offers a deeper understanding of the roles Central Asian cultural and intellectual figures played in shaping post-war cultural and international relations.

Analysis of Kazakhstan’s Foreign Policy under the Russia Ukraine War with Realism——A Comparison of Ukraine

Kazakhstan is the biggest landlocked country in the world and plays an important role in Central Asia. It used to belong to the USSR like Ukraine, which shares some similarities with Kazakhstan in the aspect of history, the relation with Russia and so on. After the 24th of February in 2022, when the Russia Ukraine war has begun, whether Kazakhstan could be the next Ukraine has become a topic under debate. In this article, the possibility and Kazakhstan’s condition as well as its foreign policy are analysed. Furthermore, realism, one of the three main theories in the international relations is used to explain and predict the behaviour of Kazakh’s government. Result indicates that Kazakhstan is less possible for it to be involved in a war like Russia Ukraine war. However, Kazakhstan may seek a more "multi-vector" way in its foreign policy which can be proved in its cooperation with other countries like China and Turkey in the aspect of economy and military and so on.

China's Role in Central Asia

China's Role in Central Asia

Қазақстан мен Түркия арасындағы өзара ынтымақтастық

In 1991, the Republic of Turkey became the first country to recognize the independence of Kazakhstan. Such a friendly act of Turkey has become a very important moral support for the young state. Along with the common cultural and historical roots between the two countries, the comprehensive support offered by Turkey in the first years of independence formed the basis for the rapid and dynamic development of bilateral relations. The dynamics of the development of Turkish-Kazakh relations and the construction of these relations at the level of strategic partnership testifies to the similarity of interests in many regional and international issues. Like Kazakhstan, which understands Turkey’s strategic importance in the region and world politics, Turkey approves Kazakhstan’s leading role in Central Asia and considers Kazakhstan the most important partner in the region. The article considers the issue of partnership between the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Republic of Turkey, which describes the priority areas and topical issues between the two countries today. It is emphasized that Turkey, which has deep historical ties with Kazakhstan, is today an important and reliable partner of the country on the Eurasian continent. For this reason, the article makes a comprehensive analysis of the level of development and prospects of cooperation in dynamically developing industries, mainly in Kazakh-Turkish relations. The article also discusses the need to improve the issue of bilateral investment.

Эшон-бобо и его потомки: сакральный статус и религиозная роль династии ишанов

The historically cyclical nature of Islamic culture is visible in the repetition of heydays and periods of decline of Islamic piety and education. The most important factor influencing the religious upsurge was the activity of individual spiritual leaders, whose role in Central Asia since the 14th century most often have been played by the sheikhs of the Naqshbandiyya Sufi brotherhood. Sheikhs were recognized as spiritual authorities not only for a narrow circle of their disciples (murids) but for the entire community. People spoke about them with reverence: “They (pers. – Ishan)!” – thereby emphasizing the special sacred status of Sufi shaikhs. This article considers the specifics of religious processes in contemporary Uzbekistan, examining the activities of the Ishan lineage going back to Muhammad Sharif al-Bulghari, a sheikh of the Naqshbandiyya-Mujaddidiyya, well known in Khorezm as Eshon bobo. When exploring the history of this family, we will see how a single man of faith contributed to the symbolic capital of a sacral blood-related group and helped shape the dynamics of a transregional family and religious network, which members have greatly influenced local religious tradition. The article argues that the al Bulghari network “reactivation” is part of the state-supported discourse on “traditional Islam” in contemporary Uzbekistan.

Цивилизация Окса и миграционные процессы

The article on the basis of the civilizational approach analyzes the approaches of urban scientists about the development of society in chronological order. The role of Central Asia in the system of civilizations of the ancient East is discussed. On the basis of archaeological, anthropological, ethnographic sources, the influence of migration processes on the transformation of local cultures to the level of the first civilizations has been revealed. The nature of the migration processes of the Bactria-Margiana Archaeological Complex (Oxus civilization).

U.S. Main Policies in Central Asia

The article analyses the U.S. policy in Central Asia with the focus on the policy of the Trump administration. It highlights its main areas of interests and features, examines the U.S. bilateral relations with Central Asian countries. The American interest in the region was manifested immediately after the collapse of the USSR and was linked to its geostrategic position and energy resources. Initially, the efforts of the White House were focused on the elimination of Soviet weapons and the promotion of business contacts. The role of Central Asia in the U.S. foreign policy increased when the military operation in Afghanistan was launched. With the achievement of agreements on the use of military infrastructure in Central Asia states, the U.S. military presence in the region significantly expanded, and cooperation through defense agencies began to actively develop. Contacts in the economic area intensified, dozens of American companies rushed to Central Asian countries, and the volume of American investments increased significantly. In order to form pro-American societies and elites, the work to promote “democratic values” has been intensified. With the arrival of the Trump administration, the emphasis was shifted towards military cooperation. Military-technical cooperation, joint military maneuvers and educational programs, exchange of experience in the field of combating terrorism, illegal migration, human trafficking and drug trafficking have increased. Business contacts, trade, economic and energy cooperation have been intensified. Washington has somewhat reduced the degree of criticism of the Central Asian countries for “problems in the area of democratic governance”, nevertheless, the U.S. continues its attempts to democratize the region through NGOs sponsored by non-state funds close to the American Democratic Party. The Central Asian region will remain in the focus of the U.S. foreign policy for a long period of time, regardless of whether the Republican or Democratic administration is in power, taking into account its geostrategic position, natural resources, situation in Afghanistan, desire to weaken the positions of Russia and China in this area.

Страны Центральной Азии в условиях афганского кризиса

The Taliban’s (terrorist organization banned in Russia) victory in Afghanistan creates new threats and challenges to the countries of Central Asia. At the same time, the attitude of the Central Asian republics to the new government is significantly different. While Tajikistan is not yet ready to establish ties with the Taliban, Uzbekistan, interested in economic projects with Afghanistan, aims to develop good-neighborly relations with the Taliban. In the context of the aggravation of the situation on the southern borders of the CIS, cooperation between Russia and the countries of the region in the field of security is strengthening, which increases its role in Central Asia. Having carried out the withdrawal of its troops from Afghanistan, the United States does not abandon its attempts to gain a foothold in the region, seeking to involve the Central Asian countries in solving their problems. At the same time, proposals are being put forward that may create additional difficulties for the Central Asian republics.

Portrait Under Construction: Lotte Jacobi in Soviet Russia and Central Asia

Traveling in Russia and Central Asia in 1932–33, the German-Jewish portrait photographer Lotte Jacobi produced an extraordinary archive of several thousand photographs documenting Soviet industrialization, collectivization, modernization, and, most profoundly, the revolution's human face. Yet she never assembled a photo book or other reflection about her experience. Based on a study of the archive in its entirety, this essay tells the story of Jacobi's journey through the lens of her photographs, building a portrait of the worlds in which she moved under the auspices of the Soviet photo agency Soiuzfoto. It discusses her portrayal of a diverse array of workers, collective farmers, peasants, street traders, intellectuals, and political figures, first in Moscow and Michurinsk and then in the newly established socialist republics of Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, where she was hosted by leading indigenous communists such as Abdurahim Hojiboyev and Fayzulla Xo'jayev. The essay theorizes some of the key problems that her corpus raises: the relative weight of political commitment and external control in its production; whether it operates in a realist or mythic mode; the extent to which it presents Soviet Russia's role in Central Asia as that of a modernizing state or colonizing empire, as its tsarist predecessor had been; and the critical status of what she called “types” with respect to the nineteenth-century racist “type” photograph. A coda considers Jacobi's belated return to her Soviet corpus for the first time in the late 1950s and early '60s, a period characterized by a post-Stalinist thaw and the nominal end of the Red Scare in the United States, to which she had emigrated in 1935 in the wake of Hitler's appointment as chancellor and Germany's subsequent transformation into a one-party dictatorship.

Культурный аспект сотрудничества Европейского Союза и Центральной Азии

Interests of world's leading states and world centers in Central Asia has increased due to the emergence of new military, environmental and other serious threats to the security, as well as the danger of escalating terrorism, drug trafficking and religious extremism. Today, the role of Central Asia in international politics is increasing due to its important geostrategic position, rich natural resources, and significant production and scientific and technical potential. Taking into account its economic interests in Central Asia, the European Union attaches great importance to the transformation processes in the countries of the region. The EU considers it necessary for both political and economic reasons to develop a common policy towards the states of the region that would ensure a geostrategic balance in the Central Asian region, the geopolitical interests of other countries, in particular the United States, the Russian Federation, China, India and Japan. Europe has made a valuable contribution to the implementation of new programs in the field of humanitarian cooperation. The EU is actively engaged in higher education within the framework of the world program Erasmus+. Education is considered a priority sector in cooperation with Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. In 2019, the EU adopted a new strategy for Central Asia. The most important feature of the new strategy is its uniformity and effectiveness. For these purposes, the policy of the member States of the European Union is coordinated, both among themselves and with special multilateral institutions, to monitor in detail the implementation of regional initiatives, to actively engage in information support of European policy in Central Asia through the development of educational programs, local independent media, and the involvement of international organizations – the Council of Europe, the OSCE, and the UN. However, it is humanitarian cooperation that is one of the main priorities in the long term. The EU intends to promote the development of Central Asia, to achieve a long-term impact and greater visibility in the region. The EU has expanded its participation and changed its approach by investing in national educational programs. In the field of higher education, the EU has expanded cooperation and exchange programs between universities in Europe and Central Asia. In the area of vocational training, the EU has promoted internship programmes in Europe for students from Central Asia. The article deals with the humanitarian cooperation of the Central Asian countries with the European Union. The European Union has a century - long history of development, which opens the way to the latest technologies and knowhow. Cultural ties complement all aspects of cooperation, giving them a long-term character.

Trade relations and the development of crafts in central asia in the late xix and early xx centuries

This article provides information on trade relations and caravanserais, markets, shops in Central Asia in the late XIX -early XX centuries, which were a source of income from trade. It is also said that the cities located on the cavdo roads played an important role in Central Asia's trade with neighboring countries. In turn, various raw materials, including cotton, silk, wool, astrakhan leather, cattle skin, silk and cotton yarn, various handicrafts and dried fruits were exported from the region.It has been scientifically analyzed that foreign goods such as industrial goods, Indian tea, spices, dyes, precious stones, sugar, and medicines produced in factories and plants of Russia and European countries were brought to Central Asia. During this period, trade and handicrafts were taxed separately, that is, the types of taxes in the markets could be broker money, place money, market money, and so on. Islamic, zoomorphic, geometric, epigraphic and astral-celestial ornaments were widely used in the decoration of handicrafts. The handicrafts produced also reflected the traditional and distinctive local features of Central Asia.

БОРЬБА НЕРЕГИОНАЛЬНЫХ АКТОРОВ ЗА ВЛИЯНИЕ В ЦЕНТРАЛЬНОЙ АЗИИ

In modern conditions, Central Asia has begun to play an increasing role for non-regional actors, who are increasingly competing for a key role in this region. The first section of the article is devoted to the analysis of the significance of Central Asia and its problems. The second section analyzes American policy and strategy in the region. The third section examines China's interests and policies in Central Asia. The fourth section is devoted to the significance of the region for Russia's national interests. Conclusions concerning the role of Central Asia for the United States, China, and Russia are presented.

The Role of Central Asia in the “One Belt—One Road” Initiative

The “New Silk Road” or “One Belt–One Road” (also “Belt and Road”) is a global project initiated by China, the implementation of which affects various areas of development of many states and regions of the world, including security issues, socio-cultural, political, diplomatic and civilisational aspects. A total of 173 agreements with 125 states and 29 international organisations have been signed under this initiative. The project is gaining momentum every year and attracts ever more researchers who analyse the economic, political, and cultural sides of the project and the interaction of the different countries and regions with China within the framework of this global enterprise. This article assesses the participation of five Central Asian countries (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan) in the Chinese project and aims to define the mutual interests of the parties on the basis of economic indicators (i.e., ESI, RCA, TDC, and G-L indexes).

Factors influencing the presence of the endangered Egyptian vulture Neophron percnopterus in Rukum, Nepal

Egyptian vultures (Neophron percnopterus) play an important ecological role in central Asia, but conservation planning is hindered because basic information about their habitat requirements is lacking. We used 66 observations of roosting vultures to identify factors related to their presence, and MaxEnt model to predict areas of suitable roosting sites in the mid-hills of Nepal (∼20% of the district appeared suitable based on roosting observations). Vultures preferred riverbanks and areas near human settlements and pathways, probably because of access to animal carcasses. This relationship to local people and livestock should be considered when producing conservation plans for this species.

Large scale climate oscillation impacts on temperature, precipitation and land surface phenology in Central Asia

Central Asia has been rapidly changing in multiple ways over the past few decades. Increases in temperature and likely decreases in precipitation in Central Asia as the result of global climate change are making one of the most arid regions in the world even more susceptible to large-scale droughts. Global climate oscillations, such as the El Niño–Southern Oscillation, have previously been linked to observed weather patterns in Central Asia. However, until now it has been unclear how the different climate oscillations act simultaneously to affect the weather and subsequently the vegetated land surface in Central Asia. We fit well-established land surface phenology models to two versions of MODIS data to identify the land surface phenology of Central Asia between 2001 and 2016. We then combine five climate oscillation indices into one regression model and identify the relative importance of each of these indices on precipitation, temperature, and land surface phenology, to learn where each climate index has the strongest influence. Our analyses illustrate that the North Atlantic Oscillation, the East Atlantic/West Russia pattern, and the Atlantic Multi-Decadal Oscillation predominantly influence temperature in the northern part of Central Asia. We also show that the Scandinavia index and the Multivariate ENSO index both reveal significant impacts on the precipitation in this region. Thus, we conclude that the land surface phenology across Central Asia is affected by several climate modes, both those that are strongly linked to far northern weather patterns and those that are forced by southern weather patterns, making this region a ‘climate change hotspot’ with strong spatial variations in weather patterns. We also show that regional climate patterns play a significant role in Central Asia, indicating that global climate patterns alone might not be sufficient to project weather patterns and subsequent land surface changes in this region.

Constrained Magnetostratigraphic Dating of a Continental Middle Miocene Section in the Arid Central Asia

The Neogene succession of the Aktau Mountains in the Ili Basin, southeast Kazakhstan, is a terrestrial archive well suited for researching the role of Central Asia in Miocene climate evolution. We present an integrated approach for dating the well-exposed Bastau Formation, based on magnetostratigraphy and constraints from cyclostratigraphy and biostratigraphy. Stepwise demagnetization yielded characteristic remanence directions that are consistent with those expected for the Miocene in Central Asia. The reddish-colored alluvial floodplain deposits and grey lacustrine deposits show partly complex magnetic behavior with magnetite and hematite as the main magnetic carriers, with variable demagnetization behavior and non-dipolar normal and reverse polarity directions. The observed magnetic properties are best explained by depositional variability and magneto-mineralogical alteration effects of both dissolution and neo-formation of magnetite, including significant secondary magnetization. The mean of reverse polarity directions is flatter than the expected Middle Miocene Earth magnetic field, which is an indicator for the existence of inclination shallowing that supports a primary origin. Detailed rock magnetic analyses are used to analyze the nature of the characteristic remanent magnetization and to discriminate primary and secondary remanence directions in order to obtain a reliable magnetostratigraphic result. The proposed age of 15.3 Ma to 13.9 Ma for the Bastau Formation corresponds to the known biostratigraphic setting, matches with typical sedimentation rates of foreland basins in Central Asia, and coincides with spectral analysis of geochemical proxies of that section. The resulting age model serves as a robust framework for paleoclimate reconstruction of Neogene climate dynamics in Central Asia.

Far, yet so Near: Normativity in Japan's Diplomacy with the Central Asian Republics

Japan has been playing a steady and pivotal role in Central Asia since the fall of the Soviet Union, but to presume Tokyo's engagement is predicted on strategic interests that compete with other powers such as Russia and China in the so-called “New Great Game” is naïve to the activities occurring on the ground. Newly independent and largely unaffected by Japanese past aggression, the five Central Asian states present a unique “petri dish” for Japan's values-based diplomacy in Asia. This study analyzes significant Japanese foreign policy measures with the Central Asian republics since independence, and—through examination of speech acts by the political elites, practices on the ground, and within the institutional framework of the Central Asia Plus Japan dialogue—draws out the normativity evident in Tokyo's Central Asian policy. Using a symbiotic framework for foreign policy analysis of geopolitics, geo-economics, and geoculture, this study isolates geoculture from the two other dynamics in order to illustrate how norms operate independently from strategic interests in the region.