central asia
As the EU faces challenges in promoting democracy in Central Asia, many wonder what the current strategy for democracy promotion should look like. What are the key elements of a successful strategy, and how can conditionality be used effectively? Moreover, can the goals of promoting democracy, protecting human rights, and supporting civil society in the region realistically be achieved, given the current complex political and economic realities? CABAR.asia explores these questions and more in an exclusive interview with the Ghent University expert. (more…)
Central Asia became more attractive for Beijing since the Russian invasion of Ukraine made the northern trade routes unavailable to use for China. Growing vacuum of influence in the region is going to be filled by China, believes Brian Carlson, the head of the Global Security Team at the Center for Security Studies (CSS) think tank. (more…)
The European Commission announced the upcoming 11th package of anti-Russian sanctions, which will be now not against Russia, but against third countries supplying sanctioned goods to the Russian Federation. Central Asian states fell under suspicion because they boosted their exports to Russia in 2022. In March, the EU Special Representative made an ‘inspection’ visit to Kyrgyzstan, and similar meetings will be held in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan at the end of April. (more…)
On March 10, 2023, Institute for War and Peace Reporting regional representative office in Central Asia (IWPR CA) held an international expert panel exploring the changing geopolitical agendas of the US and the EU toward Central Asia. The panel gathered around 45 participants in total. Watch the full video broadcast at the bottom of this highlight.
In Kyrgyzstan, decolonisation has gone beyond the academic and scientific sphere to the public: the issue is being discussed both on online and offline platforms, influencers set the new tone in the language issue, while creative people show in intuitive language the narratives of full sovereignty.
No one really knows the scope of sexualised abuse of children in Central Asia. According to estimates of human rights activists, only one case of 10 goes reported to law enforcement bodies at best.
As Moscow’s grip falters, and Beijing ups its influence, the region is seeing intriguing moves towards collective agreement and integration. (more…)
“What we have seen over the past year is that violence has broken out in all Central Asian countries, but Turkmenistan. Even though many of the early warning signs were there, we were caught partly by surprise”, – Teri Hakala, EU Special Representative, on massive violations of human rights and freedoms in Central Asia. (more…)
The partial mobilisation announced in Russia has covered not only the Russians. Migrants from Central Asia are being deceived into doing military service, while officials voice suggestions of depriving of Russian citizenship of those who have received it in the last 10 years and refuses to do military service.