Region
Central Asia
How Kazakhstan Helps Russia Bypass Western Sanctions
By Rahimbek Abdrahmanov and Kamshat Zhumagulova
The parallel imports that pass through Kazakhstan to Russia represent a complex equation with variables ranging from the customs union to corruption.
Who Will Actually Benefit From the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railroad?
By Navruz Karimov and Abror Kurbonmuratov
Connectivity projects are crucial for landlocked Central Asian countries. Yet the railway brings major concerns: a lack of transparency, smuggling risks, and a possible debt trap.
Central Asian States and Great Power Geopolitics
By Ankit Panda and Catherine Putz
What's driving Central Asian foreign policy in 2023?
In Uzbekistan, a Nascent Push for Green Energy
By Zhanaiym Kozybay
Amidst the energy and electricity crisis, Tashkent’s pursuit of renewables is as much about addressing the threat of climate change as it is about shoring up its energy security.
Another Summit to Watch: Commonwealth of Independent States Heads to Gather in Kyrgyz Capital
By Catherine Putz
Russian President Vladimir Putin is scheduled to attend. It will be his first trip abroad since the ICC issue an arrest warrant in March 2023.
A Fourth Karakalpak Released From Detention in Kazakhstan
By Catherine Putz
While the releases in Kazakhstan have been welcomed by the Karakalpak community, it’s clear that a sense of unease remains.
A Brief Chronicle of Enforced Disappearances in Tajikistan
By Catherine Putz
When a government captures, imprisons, or kills a detainee and refuses to acknowledge the person’s whereabouts, it generates a very specific kind of terror for other dissidents and their families.
Voices of Doubt: Unraveling the Ambiguities Surrounding Kolbaev’s Killing
By Aksana Ismailbekova
The Kyrgyz public’s doubts and questions about the Kolbaev killing are the expression of what they cannot see for lack of a transparent legal system amid the state’s apparent fight against criminality.
Kyrgyzstan Undermines Constitutional Court With New Avenues to Revise Decisions
By Colleen Wood
Two years after re-instituting the Constitutional Court, Japarov has approved a law that opens its decisions to presidential interference.
Kyrgyz Kingpin Kolbaev Killed in Bishkek Pub by Security Services
By Catherine Putz
Kolbaev’s death was a sudden end to a long, infamous, career of escaping the law both internationally and within Kyrgyzstan.
An Economist vs. Uzbekistan’s Silk Industry: Whose Facts Matter?
By Umida Niyazova
A coming court verdict on the admissibility of independently verified information could have lasting negative implications for labor rights reporting in Uzbekistan.
Mysterious Border Protocol Signed Between Kyrgyz and Tajik Security Chiefs
By Catherine Putz
The details of “Protocol No. 44” are unknown, but both sides clearly want to portray some kind of progress in their drawn-out border negotiations.