Central Asia | RCP Story Stream

Europe Battles to Win Favor in Central Asia April 17, 2025

The European Union does poorly in the race to win influence in Central Asia, and will need to up its game to rival China, Russia, and the Gulf. ...

Central Asia

Russia’s Hidden Empire April 16, 2025

After Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, many Western analysts and scholars who study post-Soviet countries expected those countries’ governments and publics to express solidarity with Ukraine and denounce Russian attempts to reclaim territory ...

EU Courts Central Asia in Quest for Critical Raw Materials April 04, 2025

Russia

Europe Looks East to Central Asia April 01, 2025

The European Union and Central Asia must continue moving engagement to the next level, from discussions and statements to actions across a broader spectrum. ...

European Union

Central Asia Becomes Middle Power Contender January 21, 2025

These five countries have evolved into a grouping that could pack a powerful trade and security punch ...

Central Asia

West’s Dilemma Over China’s Silk Railroad January 17, 2025

A new rail line will improve East-West connectivity in Central Asia. This will benefit Europe, but there’s unease in Western capitals over its Chinese backers. ...

china

Russia’s Strategic Role in Central Asia January 16, 2025

Central Asia has become a key region in light of the Ukraine war. A number of external actors –the United States, Germany, France, Japan, India, Türkiye, among others– have started to engage with the region in various formats to expand their influenc...

Trump Can Break China’s Grip on Central Asia January 13, 2025

Trump 2.0 must make compromises on Russia, Iran and India if it wants to contain China’s rising influence in strategic region ...

Donald Trump

Central Asia: Emerging Crucible of a New Great Game December 27, 2024

Chinese, Russian and US interests converging with palpable new tension in strategic region reset by the Ukraine war ...

Central Asia

Afghanistan’s Qoshtepa Canal and Water Security in Central Asia December 20, 2024

Afghanistan

Expand the Abraham Accords to Central Asia December 19, 2024

One of President-elect Donald Trump's greatest foreign policy achievements was the 2020 signing of the Abraham Accords, in which four Arab states agreed to normalize ties with Israel. ...

Abraham Accords

Uyghur Separatist Threat Could Reach Beyond China December 17, 2024

Central Asia, Pakistan and Russia could soon be in terrorists’ crosshairs ...

The Impact of Russia Sanctions on Central Asia December 16, 2024

Since Vladimir Putin launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine and invited the largest international sanctions regime against Russia since the Second World War, Central Asia and the Caucasus have been forced into an uncomfortable position at the fr...

Russia

Central Asia: Blind Spot Trump Can’t Afford To Ignore December 13, 2024

From energy resources to economic growth, the region holds key assets for US foreign policy, trade, and security interests ...

Assad’s Fall Is a Major Blow to Russia December 12, 2024

Russia’s 2015 military intervention in Syria was a bold assertion of its great power ambitions, rescuing Bashar al-Assad's regime and projecting influence in the Middle East. However, recent rebel advances and Assad’s sudden deposal threaten to isola...

Assassination Attempt on Uzbekistan’s Komil Allamjonov Evokes Echoes of the Great Game November 13, 2024

The cracks and fissures of Central Asia’s 19th-century Great Game power struggles and political instability remain hidden just below the surface of the region’s deserts. Occasionally, there is a small shift, but enough to allow long-forgotten problem...

Central Asia Form a Key Geopolitical Node November 08, 2024

China, Russia and Turkey have strong stakes in youthful region’s development while US and West are wholly absent ...

Central Asia

Russia’s Diminishing Role in Central Asia August 24, 2024

The world was caught off guard by Ukraine’s bold and daring incursion into the Kursk region of Russia on August 6. ...

Central Asia

Iran’s Plans for the Region Were Interrupted by the Haniyeh Killing August 14, 2024

Following the sudden death of Iran’s president, Ibrahim Raisi, the reformist politician Masoud Pezeshkian won the snap election to replace the hard-liner, a possible successor to supreme leader Ali Khamenei.Pezeshkian campaigned on a program of chang...

iran

Middle East

Politics

Filling the Void Left by Great-Power Retrenchment August 13, 2024

Russia

Afghanistan

The Middle East’s Latest Investment Battleground August 09, 2024

The new Middle East, unconstrained by ongoing great power conflicts, is looking to capitalize on enthusiasm from Central Asian leaders eager to diversify their economies away from historical reliance on China and Russia. Such investing brings with it...

Strategic Balances and Fractures in Central Asia August 06, 2024

While mutual antagonism towards the United States currently unites Russia, China, and Iran in Central Asia, their collaboration is more a strategic convenience than a deep-seated alliance. ...

Russia

china

iran

Washington Must Step Up Its Trade in Central Asia July 22, 2024

A delegation from Uzbekistan visited Washington, D.C. to advocate for the repeal of the Jackson-Vanik amendment and establish normal trade relations with the U.S. ...

Central Asia

Uzbekistan

Central Asia: The Once and Future Heart of Eurasia July 03, 2024

In recent decades, the portrayal of the five former Soviet Central Asian states—collectively known as the “stans”—in Western media and policy discourse has often been overly simplistic, neglecting their unique identities, historical legacies, and ric...

Asia

Eurasian Erosion June 22, 2024

Evolving energy strategies and diplomatic maneuvers among several former Soviet republics in Central Asia are reshaping the region's political dynamics—away from Moscow. ...

Russia

Central Asia