Kazakhstan is hosting the international peacekeeping exercise Steppe Eagle 2012, amidst growing speculation that the country plans to deploy a company of peacekeepers abroad. Astana ultimately resisted the West’s efforts to persuade the country to send peacekeepers to Afghanistan, but is now turning to consider... MORE

Turkey is revisiting the trans-Caspian gas pipeline project after a decade-long hiatus. Ankara is now aligning with the European Union, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan, supporting the transportation of Turkmenistan’s gas to Turkey and onward to Europe. Ten years ago, Turkey failed to capitalize on the first... MORE

The recent discovery that former Kyrgyzstani President Kurmanbek Bakiyev’s brother Janysh is also living in Minsk sparked furious exchanges between Kyrgyzstan and Belarus, with the latter country refusing a request to extradite him to face charges of murder. Belarus maintains, officially at least, that the... MORE

On August 28–29, Astana hosted an international conference at Independence Palace called “From a Nuclear Test Ban to a Nuclear Weapons-Free World.” According to Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, more than 200 participants from more than 75 countries joined representatives from some two dozen international... MORE

On August 22–25, 2012, Dai Bingguo, Chinese State Councilor and top national security advisor to President Hu Jintao, went to Ulaanbaatar to meet newly installed Mongolian government and parliamentary leaders. This visit may in part have been a reaction to US Secretary of State Hillary... MORE

Last month, the largest mosque in Central Asia, Hazret Sultan (“Holy Sultan”), opened in Astana. The mosque, whose total area is more than 17,500 square meters (188,368 square feet), is designed in classic Islamic style with traditional Kazakh ornaments and decorative elements. Its walls have... MORE

The trial of three Kazakh political opposition leaders for the Zhanaozen events is widely viewed as a test for Kazakhstan’s judicial system and democratic development. The trial of Vladimir Kozlov, leader of the unregistered opposition party Alga! (Forward), Serik Sapargaly, a politician and activist of... MORE

Views on the future of Central Asia’s security differ within the region and beyond. And there are also major differences within the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) itself. These differences have long existed, though more recently they were brought into focus by Uzbekistan’s suspension of... MORE

Stability is cherished by the regime in Uzbekistan, but it does not mean changing foreign policy views is out of line. Such is the outlook in Tashkent where, on July 31, the lower house of parliament approved President Islam Karimov’s proposal for a new foreign... MORE

On July 20, five men suspected of terrorism-related activities were arrested in Atyrau (western Kazakhstan). The arrested men had contacts with the Az-Zahir Baibars Brigades of Jund al-Khilafah (Soldiers of the Caliphate), which was founded by three Kazakhs from Atyrau and ordered attacks in Kazakhstan... MORE