Executive Summary: A Kyrgyz mob stormed dormitories housing foreign students in Bishkek, targeting South Asian students and causing hundreds, possibly thousands, of foreign students to evacuate the country. The attack has left the Kyrgyz government concerned about economic losses and the destabilizing effects on the... MORE

Executive Summary: Bishkek has sought to attract workers from other countries to fill the void of a million Kyrgyz workers abroad, a substitution that has sparked xenophobia and violence, most recently on May 17 and 18. The tense situation has been exacerbated by Kyrgyzstan’s weak... MORE

Executive Summary: The Crocus City Hall terrorist attack has led to a rise in Russian xenophobia against Central Asians and a strong crackdown on Central Asian migrants from the Kremlin. Labor migrants from Central Asia make up a majority of Russia’s migrant labor market, and... MORE

Executive Summary: Russia’s war against Ukraine has given Azerbaijan fresh motivation to strengthen relations with Central Asian countries to improve their collective trade, transit, and energy potential. Continued development and increased use of the Middle Corridor is central to Baku’s increased cooperation with Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,... MORE

Executive Summary: Beijing, Bishkek, and Tashkent have been discussing the construction of a joint railway project for almost 30 years, which runs the risk of completely unraveling due to geopolitical and alliance changes in Central Asia. Moscow and Astana are happy with the project’s delays,... MORE

Executive Summary: The Central Asian states are becoming more concerned with the surge in drugs being trafficked from Afghanistan since the Taliban retook power in 2021. The Taliban has banned poppy cultivation, but drug enforcement agencies in Central Asia claim that drug production continues in... MORE

Executive Summary: Beijing practices public memory management beyond its borders to neutralize critics by coopting elites and suppressing independent voices. Despite protests, Kyrgyzstan has consistently supported Beijing’s interests, particularly regarding a land transfer and the treatment of Uyghurs in Xinjiang. Beijing continues to incentivize ruling... MORE

Executive Summary Kyrgyzstan recently finished repatriating women and children who were detained in Syria and Iraq for having been connected with men who fought with al-Qaeda and Islamic State (IS). This has been hailed as the end to Central Asia's struggle with large-scale jihadism, but... MORE

Executive Summary: The Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) has attempted to increase its influence by creating a permanent free-trade zone with Iran, entering talks with India on a free-trade agreement, and encouraging Uzbekistan to become a member. The EAEU has served as a way for Moscow... MORE

Executive Summary: Following the recent presidential elections, Azerbaijan turned its focus to the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) and its role in connecting the Turkic world, indicating that Baku does not intend to align with the West or Russia. The expansion of defense cooperation within... MORE