Shavkat Mirziyoyev

With so many activists in Uzbekistan once again behind bars, the president’s promises of reform ring increasingly hollow.

While some progress has been made, foreign investors are starting to wonder if Uzbekistan’s privatization agenda will ever live up to its much-lauded potential. 

Five years in jail for criticizing Mirziyoyev’s attending a military parade in Moscow, two and half for a vulgar comment on Instagram, seven for a derogatory poem.

Thousands were imprisoned under the regime of Islam Karimov, unjustly convicted on religious extremism and other charges. Many have been freed, but they remain unexonerated. 

"While it is undeniable that Mirziyoyev’s Uzbekistan is less paranoid, much freer and tolerant than Karimov’s... the very nature of the system remains unchanged."

France's strategic moves in Central Asia, exemplified by Macron's recent visit to Uzbekistan, are driven by myriad factors.

Germany’s key role is in helping Central Asia reduce its reliance on Russian and Chinese investments and, more significantly, trade.

Despite the modest progress achieved under Uzbek leadership, there are still numerous challenges to Central Asian regionalism.

Uzbekistan is a bedrock U.S. partner in a dynamic region.

The state seems to aim for branding Uzbekistan as dynamic. Its approach to free speech is anything but.

With 87 percent of the votes in a campaign devoid of genuine competition, the Uzbek president has cemented himself in power much like his predecessor.