Central Asia

To Justify, Demonize, Normalize: Putin’s Language of War and Central Asian Neutrality

President Vladimir Putin has persisted in telling his tale of a righteous Russian war on Ukrainians, both to home audiences and to the outside world. Among the latter, of notable…

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The Future of Kazakhstani-Russian Relations: Public Opinion and the CSTO

President Vladimir Putin’s escalation of the war in Ukraine in February 2022 has critical implications for the future of Russia’s relationship with Kazakhstan. One important indicator of the direction of…

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Racializing Central Asia during the Russian-Ukrainian War: Migration Flows and Ethnic Hierarchies

This memo looks at three patterns of mobility into and out of Central Asia in the current period affected both by the war in Ukraine and historical structures of colonialism…

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The Emerging Role of Muslim Civil Society In Central Asia

In the three decades since the fall of the Soviet Union, Muslim civil society has developed significantly in Central Asia. Yet, in contemporary discussions on the future of the region,…

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What Drives Border Conflicts in Central Asia? Roots of the Deadly Violence on the Kyrgyz-Tajik Border

(PONARS Eurasia Policy Memo) In late April 2021, cross-border violence resulted in the deaths of 36 Kyrgyz and 19 Tajik citizens. The springtime violence represents the deadliest interstate conflict in…

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Engaging with Muslim Civil Society in Central Asia: Components, Approaches, and Opportunities

(USIP) Summary: Muslim civil society organizations (MCSOs) in Central Asia are highly diverse in terms of views, activities, and structures. In most cases, however, they are politically moderate, supportive of…

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Three Decades of Post-Soviet Institution-Building: Slow Start, Expansion, Stagnation

(PONARS Eurasia Policy Memo) As this year draws to a close, Russia and most of the former Soviet states will mark three decades since the USSR was dissolved and a…

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Russia’s Approach to Afghanistan Following the Taliban Takeover

(PONARS Eurasia Policy Memo) The key words to describe Russia’s immediate reaction to the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021 are pragmatic, relatively calm, and restrained. While the Kremlin…

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Soft Power in Central Asia: The Politics of Influence and Seduction

(CAP) Central Asia often evokes images of imperial power rivalry dating back to the 19th century. Yet as the region’s international politics becomes more complex in the age of globalization,…

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Central Peripheries: Nationhood in Central Asia

(UCL Press) Central Peripheries explores post-Soviet Central Asia through the prism of nation-building. Although relative latecomers on the international scene, the Central Asian states see themselves as globalized, and yet in…

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To Justify, Demonize, Normalize: Putin’s Language of War and Central Asian Neutrality

The Future of Kazakhstani-Russian Relations: Public Opinion and the CSTO

Racializing Central Asia during the Russian-Ukrainian War: Migration Flows and Ethnic Hierarchies

The Emerging Role of Muslim Civil Society In Central Asia

What Drives Border Conflicts in Central Asia? Roots of the Deadly Violence on the Kyrgyz-Tajik Border

Engaging with Muslim Civil Society in Central Asia: Components, Approaches, and Opportunities

Three Decades of Post-Soviet Institution-Building: Slow Start, Expansion, Stagnation

Russia’s Approach to Afghanistan Following the Taliban Takeover

Soft Power in Central Asia: The Politics of Influence and Seduction

Central Peripheries: Nationhood in Central Asia