The United States and Central Asia: In Search of a Strategy


Author(s):  
Jonathan Holslag

The chapter argues that India has a strong interest to balance China and that the two Asian giants will not be able grow together without conflict. However, India will not be able to balance China’s rise. The chapter argues that India remains stuck between nonalignment and nonperformance. On the one hand, it resists the prospect of a new coalition that balances China from the maritime fringes of Eurasia, especially if that coalition is led by the United States. On the other hand, it has failed to strengthen its own capabilities. Its military power lags behind China’s, its efforts to reach out to both East and Central Asia have ended in disappointment, and its economic reforms have gone nowhere. As a result of that economic underachievement, India finds itself also torn between emotional nationalism and paralyzing political fragmentation, which, in turn, will further complicate its role as a regional power.



Author(s):  
Kanat Kakar ◽  

In 2013, China's Silk Road Initiative, the One Belt One Road project, was first mentioned in Kazakhstan and has been widely discussed by major countries and international organizations. Kazakhstan's participation in this project, a resource-rich country in Central Asia, has attracted world attention, and the impact of external forces on Central Asia will have its own impact on the implementation of this project. The interests of countries such as Russia and the United States in Central Asia and the views of international organizations are important factors in the implementation of this project. This article examines the relations between China and Kazakhstan in the framework of the "One Belt - One Road" initiative and the competition of external forces influencing it, their views on the project, their interests, the project and competing projects, and highlights important international organizations and agreements. and the toothed conclusion is pronounced.



2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-81
Author(s):  
E. V. Kryzhko ◽  
P. I. Pashkovsky

The article examines the features of the US foreign policy towards the Central Asian states in the post-bipolar period. The imperatives and constants, as well as the transformation of Washington’s Central Asian policy, have been characterized. It is shown that five Central Asian states have been in the focus of American foreign policy over the past thirty years. In the process of shaping the US foreign policy in Central Asia, the presence of significant reserves of energy and mineral resources in the region was of great importance. Therefore, rivalry for Caspian energy resources and their transportation routes came to the fore. In addition to diversifying transport and logistics flows and supporting American companies, the US energy policy in Central Asia was aimed at preventing the restoration of Russia’s economic and political influence, as well as countering the penetration of China, which is interested in economic cooperation with the countries of the region. During the period under review, the following transformation of mechanisms and means of Washington’s policy in the Central Asian direction was observed: the policy of “exporting democracy”; attempts to “nurture” the pro-American elite; striving to divide states into separate groups with permanent “appointment” of leaders; involvement in a unified military system to combat terrorism; impact on the consciousness of the population in order to destabilize geopolitical rivals; building cooperation on a pragmatic basis due to internal difficulties and external constraints. Central Asian states sympathized with the American course because of their interest in technology and investment. At the same time, these states in every possible way distanced themselves from the impulses of “democratization” from Washington. Kazakhstan was a permanent regional ally of the United States, to which Uzbekistan was striving to join. The second echelon in relations with the American side was occupied by Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. A feature of the positions of the Central Asian countries is the maximum benefit from cooperation with Washington while building good-neighborly relations with Russia and China, which is in dissonance with the regional imperatives of the United States. In the future, the American strategy in Central Asia will presumably proceed from the expediency of attracting regional allies and stimulating contradictions in order to contain geopolitical rivals in the region.



2002 ◽  
Vol 101 (657) ◽  
pp. 330-336 ◽  
Author(s):  
Svante E. Cornell

American engagement with the countries of the Caucasus and Central Asia needs to be clear and predictable. The United States has the potential to play an important stabilizing role in the region, but as long as uncertainty surrounds its commitment, America's role may instead be destabilizing if other powers try to test its determination to remain engaged.



Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document