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 Russia’s crackdown on Tajiks following the March 22 Crocus City Hall massacre is likely leading to further alienation and subsequent radicalization among members of the ethnic group living in Russia. These individuals would bring these ideas with them if they are deported back... MORE

Executive Summary: Moscow hopes the protests in Armenia about the return of four villages to Azerbaijan will spread and force Yerevan to slow its efforts to integrate with the West. The belief that Moscow is backing these protests is having the opposite effect, prompting Yerevan... 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 Mongolian and British governments are engaged in talks on opening an “air bridge” to increase exports of Ulaanbaatar’s rare-earth elements (REEs) to the West. Mongolia possesses vast deposits of REES that play a critical role in the development and production of modern... 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: Belarusian Foreign Minister Sergei Aleinik’s recent visits to India and Mongolia highlight Minsk’s growing ambitions to court alternative economic partners to Russia and the West. These efforts reflect a non-ideological basis for Belarus’s foreign policy, as pragmatic economic considerations almost always trump ideological... MORE