Analytical materials
In recent years, China has been actively trying to expand its influence in Kazakhstan and the Central Asian region as a whole. Beijing is allocating money for technical and economic cooperation, laying routes to the west through the region and increasing the number of soft power projects. The success of PRC educational projects is particularly evident. However, experts say that there are a number of factors that reduce the effectiveness of China’s soft power tools.
Decolonisation of Central Asia: Policy Notes were developed based on the discussions during the regional conference Decolonisation of Central Asia: reshaping narratives, held in Almaty on March 15-17, 2023. Each document is addressed to a specific sector and includes civil society, government, media and international organisations.
One of the noteworthy events in May 2023 for the Central Asian countries was the recent China plus Central Asia summit held in Xi’an. CABAR.asia collected insights from regional experts, focusing on the summit’s outcomes, the strengths, and weaknesses of this mode of interaction, and emerging trends in China’s collaboration with the five countries in the region. (more…)
May’s analytical articles in foreign press discussed Kazakhstan’s foreign relations, a new form authoritarianism in Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan’s widening crackdown on human rights activists, Turkmenistan’s rising geopolitical role, as well as the 2023 China-Central Asia summit. (more…)
Despite the process of derussification in Tajikistan, the Russian language plays a crucial role in the country’s information space. According to a study by Navruz Karimov, the overwhelming majority of search queries to Google in Tajikistan are made in Russian. This data speaks not only to the lack of useful content in Tajik but also to the poor prospects for the Tajik language.
The publication “China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway: at the crossroads of civilizations, geopolitics and trade routes” is authored by Central Asian scholars, Abbos Bobokhonov from Uzbekistan, and Nargiza Muratalieva from Kyrgyzstan on the basis of the IWPR Representative Office in Central Asia and the regional analytical platform CABAR.asia. (more…)
Almost half of Tajiks have experienced the consequences of social inequality, one third of respondents believe that fighting corruption is necessary to overcome social inequality. This is evidenced by the results of a sociological survey conducted by Alisher Gardonshoеv, the graduate of the CABAR.Asia School of Analytics. (more…)
The government of Kazakhstan has set a target of reaching a total export volume of IT products amounting to 500 million USD by the year 2025. In an article authored by Zhaslan Nurbayev exclusively for CABAR.asia, the factors influencing the development of this industry are examined. (more…)
The China-Central Asia summit in Xi’an on May 18-19 was an unprecedented event on a surprisingly large scale. China intends to institutionalise its relations with the Central Asian states, which Beijing considers a single region, says Umedjon Ibrohimzoda, an independent political scientist and graduate of the CABAR.asia School of Analytics. (more…)
“Both Russia and China have shared, and individual, interests in Central Asia. The war in Ukraine has certainly changed the dynamic of the two powers in the region, challenging the notion that Russia can continue its role as security guarantor”, – writes Nigel Li in an article, exclusively for CABAR.asia (more…)