scholarly journals ROADS OF CENTRAL ASIA. THE NEW INTERNATIONAL TRANSIT PROJECTS

2020 ◽  
pp. 51-60
Author(s):  
Ekaterina Borisova ◽  

The development of international trade implies the use of the territory of Central Asia as a transit zone, through which the routes China–Europe, China – the middle East should be laid. The existing communication capabilities are not enough, so new directions are being developed (Railways “China–Kazakhstan – Turkmenistan–Iran”, “Turkmenistan– Afghanistan–Tajikistan”, ”China–Kyrgyzstan–Uzbekistan”; multimodal transit corridors” Lazurit”,” TRANS – Caspian international transport route”; such highways as “Western China– Western Europe”). However, paved roads, both rail and road, do not always meet expectations in terms of the volume of cargo passing through them (projects “China – Kazakhstan – Turkmenistan – Iran” and the Lapis lazuli corridor). Their loading is delayed “until better times” either due to the unstable political background, or due to the lack of necessary commodity flows in both directions. In some cases, there is a lack of political will to make appropriate decisions. Finished projects are unprofitable. None of the international transit projects announced or even completed over the past 20 years through the Central Asian republics has been fully operational. Meanwhile, international transit allows not only to fill the state budget, but also to solve issues of internal connectivity of territories. This task is most relevant today for Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, which have become hostages of their own geography, with localities separated by impassable mountain ranges.

Author(s):  
I. Labinskaya

The session of IMEMO academic council in December 2010 discussed the problems of Central Asia in the context of the Afghan situation. In her keynote report D. Malysheva, doctor of political sciences, pointed at the increased attention to Central Asia by regional and international players. This is explained by the new and extremely worrying situation in neighboring Afghanistan. There is a prospect that NATO will lose the war in Afghanistan and that the coalition troops will be withdrawn from that country. In its turn, this generates a threat of Taliban’s return to power in this country. Thus, we cannot exclude the political upheavals in the Central Asian republics that will inevitably affect Russia's interests. The discussion highlighted Russia’s stable interest to Afghanistan both politically and economically.


2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (9) ◽  
pp. 250-253
Author(s):  
A.A.Erkuziev

Central Asia has played an important role in the political, economic and cultural relations of different nations and countries since ancient times as one of the centers of the world civilization. The Great Silk Road, which passed through this region, brought together the countries on the trade routes, the peoples living in them, and served to spread information about their traditions, lifestyles, location, historical events. These data, in turn, brought different peoples closer and served as the basis for the establishment of mutual economic and cultural relationships between them. One of the important scientific issues here is the study of the spread of information about the Central Asian region, where most of the Great Silk Road passed, to Western Europe through other countries.


1998 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 573-579 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Rywkin

Kazakstan is both part of former Soviet Central Asia and yet stands apart in many respects. Its geographic position, past history and present development are unique for the area. It is significant that Soviet-era writings treated Kazakstan distinctly from the other four Central Asian republics. This essay is devoted to these differences.


Significance The Taliban victory creates threats and some opportunities for Central Asian republics, three of which -- Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan -- border on Afghanistan. All except Tajikistan have indicated they will work with the new Afghan authorities. Impacts Russia and Central Asian states, except Tajikistan up to a point, will not back anti-Taliban resistance groups. Weak Afghan governance creates more scope for heroin trafficking through Central Asia. Although China is the more important economic player in Central Asia, it will defer to Russia on security matters.


Author(s):  
Sheela Jeyaraj ◽  
Evangeline Anderson-Rajkumar

Gender issues in South and Central Asia involve discriminations in the socio-cultural, political and economic realms. Despite policy initiatives, gender equality is still not available for most women. The condition of Central Asian women is less favourable than that of their counterparts in South Asia. Still, in South Asian countries where certain Hindu or Buddhist fundamentalist norms prevail, the position of women continues to be deplorable. Discrimination of women is justified in Sanskrit scriptures, which do not contain a coherent narrative of the creation of women. Likewise, the scriptures of Jainism and Buddhism present women as inferior to men. The status of Christian women in certain South Asian countries is better than that of their Central Asian republics. The patriarchal societies of South and Central Asia do not educate a sufficient number of women in theology. Today, almost all female Christian theologians in South Asia engage with the pathos of the exploited. Reversal of gender roles among diaspora communities have caused conflicts in the home and in public. Despite their struggles, Christian women in South and Central Asia continue their witness to God’s grace in Christ sustaining them.


Upravlenie ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 55-67
Author(s):  
Зоидов ◽  
K. Zoidov ◽  
Медков ◽  
A. Medkov

Methods related to formation of management mechanisms for development of Central Asia countries’ transit economy in conditions of integration and instability have been considered in this paper. The transit economy is the business system in which the receipts from the transmission of energy, energy commodities, water resources, freight and passenger traffic through the country’s territory, as well as provision of transit services constitute a weighty part of the revenue for authorities, businesses and population in the territory, one of the foundations of their welfare. Development of cross-border transportation of goods and implementation of transport and transit potential of Russia and Central Asian countries can and should become a substantial income sources for business entities, all level budgets and population, as well as the engine for industrial and technological upgrading, institutional and organizational evolution for the economical systems of countries and integration associations. Market advantages and disadvantages of the main projects related to construction and modernization of communication lines in the region have been presented, prerequisites for creation of transport corridors’ crossing points and formation of transport and logistics centers (nodes) in the States’ territory have been revealed. It has been shown that although the Central Asia States are competing for the right to become such centers, their common interest is to maximize the use of all transport and transit potential of the region that provides the transit economy stability. Emphasis has been placed on the development of international transport corridor North — South, the conclusion of preference for the use of its new eastern branch passing along the route Uzen (Kazakhstan) — Gorgan (Iran) through the Turkmenistan territory has been justified.


Author(s):  
Pierre Siméon

This chapter explores the Islamic archaeology of Central Asia. Central Asian medieval ities were investigated by Russian researchers since the last quarter of the 19th century but the results of these excavations remain little known in the west. The predominance of historical survey studies, extensive excavations, and an impressive number of publications provides a basis for understanding the organization and distribution of the Islamic Central Asian cities. Their interactions within this vast territory and with the Middle East emerge in contemporary debates. Trade plays a major role in these contacts, and the sedentary-nomadic interface stimulated the economy. Nevertheless, few studies bring together the work carried out over the long term and enable an understanding of the variation and evolution of Islamic trade and urbanism in Central Asia. Outlines of the medieval societies are known, but the details remain unclear. This chapter follows the main river basins (Amu Darya and Syr Daria) and steppic and desert interfaces to understand the basis and extent of Russian archeology in Central Asia from the Tsarist period (c. 1850–1917) until today. The construction of a field of Central Asian Islamic archaeology and the main challenges confronting researchers in the five Central Asian republics are also considered.


2007 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
pp. 802-804
Author(s):  
Nilgun Onder

Clan Politics and Regime Transition in Central Asia, Kathleen Collins, New York: Cambridge University Press, 2006, pp. 376.The long isolation of Central Asia finally ended with the collapse of the Soviet Union. Five new independent states emerged from the ashes of the Soviet Union, the very first time in history that the peoples of Central Asia gained their own independent states modelled on the modern state. This development caught the world, including Central Asians themselves, by surprise. It changed the geopolitics of the entire Eurasia. In the ensuing years, the Central Asian republics have undergone simultaneous multiple transformations: state building; political regime transformation; and transition from Soviet communism. Thus the new states in Central Asia have provided scholars with new cases of multiple economic and political transitions to study and compare. In recent years, there has been a significant proliferation of English-language publications on Central Asia. Kathleen Collin's book, a comparative historical study of political development in Central Asia, is a major contribution. While its focus is on Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, it often provides examples from the other two Central Asian republics, namely Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan. It is thoroughly researched and rich in information and details. It also makes a significant contribution to the political science literature on democratization, regime transition and consolidation.


2008 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 105-123 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sébastien Peyrouse

This paper is devoted to the Russian minorities living in Central Asia (nearly 10 million people in 1989, about 5.5 million today), and more specifically to the Russians living in Kazakhstan, who constitute the main Russian minority in the near abroad, apart from Ukraine. Unlike the Russians living in the other Central Asian republics, Russians in Kazakhstan created political parties. Kazakhstan even experienced some significant secessionist trends in the mid-1990s. Today, the political, social and economic situation of the Russian minority is rather different. Since about 2 million Russians have left the country, those who remain have tried to find their niche within the economic growth that Kazakhstan has experienced since the 2000s. The political parties and associations that represented the interests of the Russian minority have largely disappeared from the political scene. The “Russian question” no longer threatens to destabilize the territorial integrity of the country.


Author(s):  
Mengkewuliji Mengkewuliji

This paper explores the development of trade and economic relations between China and Kazakhstan, and China and Uzbekistan since the introduction of the "One Belt – One Road" initiative in 2013 until the economic slowdown in 2020. The author also compares the different ways in which China–Kazakhstan and China–Uzbekistan trade and economic relations were developed. The research reveals a significant role of the "One Belt – One Road" initiative in the rapid growth of bilateral cooperation between China and Kazakhstan, and China and Uzbekistan in the spheres of trade, infrastructure development, finance and energy. Kazakhstan and China put the emphasis on infrastructure development and trade, including the manufactured products. Uzbekistan and China focused on trade in energy resources. China's investment in both Central Asian countries grew equally, however Kazakhstan received more Chinese loans than Uzbekistan. China provided loans to both countries only on condition of their cooperation with Chinese companies operating in Central Asia. New transit routes were built within the framework of the "One Belt – One Road" initiative. China, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan implemented joint highways projects such as the Kabul and Trans-Caspian corridors. While China and Kazakhstan developed continental infrastructure projects such as "Western China-Western Europe", China and Uzbekistan focused more on local programs such as the construction of the Kamchik tunnel. Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan pursued different energy policies toward China. Kazakhstan was developing equal cooperation with China and Russia in energy sphere. Uzbekistan tried to pursue a policy of energy independence, and when it failed, it began to work more closely with China. Other significant differences between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan included their positions regarding the financial structures of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. During discussion of the SCO Development Bank project, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan supported Chinese and Russian projects respectively.


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