Publications

Authoritarianism is on the rise around the world, with authoritarian states becoming less and less transparent to their subjects, ultimately forfeiting their trust. To secure legitimacy from the public and hence stay in power, autocrats use “external regime legitimation,” a process in which a state promotes a positive image of itself by engaging with other countries’ governments. Autocrats organize high-level meetings and participate in multilateral organizations to create the ... click to read more

n February 2016, Dariga Nazerbayeva, the then-deputy prime minister of Kazakhstan, declared that Kazakh children should learn Chinese in addition to Kazakh, Russian and English.[1] She further claimed, “China is our friend, our trading partner and the biggest investor in the economy of our country… in the near future, we will all need to know Chinese.” [2] Her statement not only emphasized the economic relationship between China and Kazakhstan, but also appealed ... click to read more

Bilateral relations between Japan and Kazakhstan have grown increasingly robust since the latter gained independence in 1991. From an economic standpoint, bilateral trade from January to October 2019 totaled $1.3 billion. Japan’s foreign direct investment (FDI) and official developmental assistance (ODA) makes it one of the top 10 investors in Kazakhstan, and it has invested more than $7 billion in the country. The two countries have also sought to establish c ... click to read more

Q-pop is the latest phenomenon hitting the airwaves in Kazakhstan. The musical genre features infectious pop tunes, tightly choreographed dance routines, and flamboyant fashion trends and make-up. Behind this seemingly fun and frivolous veneer, however, Q-pop offers a deeper commentary on how Kazakhstan is attempting to embrace the forces of globalization while simultaneously establishing a renewed sense of national identity, and in turn forge a new image of itself to present to the rest of the ... click to read more

While American foreign-policy experts and politicians are consumed with the threat of the so-called “rise of China” to US regional and global interests, it is easy to forget that other countries have to navigate their own complex relationships with the People’s Republic without the luxury of immense ocean defenses or a 11 to 1 advantage in aircraft carrier power projection. The Russian Far East and Central Asia provide two different case studies for how various civ ... click to read more

Much like the unhappy pair of travelers from the 1987 Steve Martin classic, the countries of Central Asia are discovering that the process of transportation can bring both tangible and more abstract benefits to even the most begrudging and cantankerous of relationships. The relatively bonhomie rhetoric between the leaders of the five nations (led by Uzbekistan’s President Shavkat Mirziyoyev) about bringing the countries together and developing good neighborliness in the last two years has ... click to read more

Nowhere is Uzbekistan's constant juggling act between advancing national security interests and producing much-needed economic growth so readily apparent as at its long Ferghana Valley border. Foreign policy under the authoritarian former president of Uzbekistan, Islam Karimov, often seemed to prefer economic and political isolation over collaboration with regional neighbors, resulting in miles of mined borders and simmering tensions. Thus, it was quite the surprise when newly-minted Uzbek P ... click to read more

Neighbors Tajikistan and Uzbekistan seem to be close to reaching an understanding on one of the issues that has most plagued the relationship between these two countries — energy trade. As originally developed under Soviet planners, the Central Asian Power System (CAPS) electrical grid was designed to provide for the needs of the Central Asian republics. During the summer months, the mountainous Tajikistan would generate electricity from snowmelt that could then be sent to the plains of ... click to read more

A formidable Soviet project, the Farhod Hydropower Plant (HPP), stands immovable on the border of Northern Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, in the Spitamen District of the Sughd Province. Due to its location, the Farhod HPP and reservoir have been involved in one of the most contentious territorial and property disputes between the two countries since their independence. ... click to read more

The Kasan-Sai Reservoir is located at the western end of Kyrgyzstan — a little over 3 miles away from the Uzbekistan border — in the Ferghana Valley of the Jalal-Abad Oblast. The reservoir has remained a source of contention and controversy since the breakup of the Soviet Union. The post-breakup geography has provided the two upstream countries of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan with a strategic advantage in Central Asia with regard to water resource distribution. Recent developments after ... click to read more