That the ethnic and political borders in Central Asia do not correspond is widely recognized; but the region’s nine ethnic exclaves, territories within the borders of one country that are ethnically distinct and politically part of a neighboring state, has attracted little attention in the... MORE

A conference on European security, organized by the Russian defense ministry on May 23–24 in Moscow, served as a platform for the top brass to reiterate well-worn themes and perspectives on a range of issues: from the United States’ ballistic missile defense (BMD) system to... MORE

The armed conflict in the North Caucasus continues to kill and maim (www.kavkaz-uzel.ru/articles/224400/). Murders, kidnappings and explosions have become the daily routine in this part of Russia. Only suicide bombings carried out by the armed resistance groups provide a slightly different picture. Neither side of... MORE

On January 27, 2013, China conducted its second mid-course missile defense interceptor test, leading to considerable speculation among Chinese and Western analysts about Beijing’s motives and intentions as well as its plans for further development of mid-course intercept technology and possible deployment of its own... MORE

China is no longer merely a passive recipient of the world order, but it has become a key factor in determining the foreign and defense policy choices that are open to other international actors. Beijing seems to have positioned the country as a global great... MORE

The jihadist network in Kazakhstan, inspired and financed by al-Qaeda, the Taliban and the Caucasus Emirate, has shifted from a loose grouping of largely autonomous jamaats into a unified movement that threatens not only Kazakhstan but Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and portions of Uzbekistan as well, according... MORE

Six months after his appointment as Russia’s defense minister, Army-General Sergei Shoigu has initiated a number of policy reversals in key areas of his predecessor’s Armed Forces reform. Some of these changes were small measures, however in a number of his recent actions Shoigu has... MORE

On April 26, Kazakhstani President Nursultan Nazarbayev opened the third ministerial meeting of the so-called Istanbul process, an international initiative for reconstructing and stabilizing Afghanistan in view of the International Security Assistance Force’s (ISAF) forthcoming departure from this country. Speaking before the delegates of the... MORE

On May 8, Robert Mueller, the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), visited Georgia. The official reason for the visit was to assess the terrorism risks in the region in connection with the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. “The FBI is responsible for... MORE

Since 1991, the highly developed Soviet space industry has fallen on hard times. Even though much Russian commentary has emphasized the competitiveness of Russia’s present-day space sector, it has nonetheless fallen behind its global competitors. And now Kazakhstan is demanding a greater say in what... MORE