The New Central Asia: The Regional Impact of International Actors Ed. Emilian Kavalski
World Scientific Publishing Co. 2010
World Scientific Publishing Co. 2010
The New
Central Asia: The Regional Impact of International Actors, which is an
anthology of essays edited by Emilian Kavalski, contains a variety of
insightful analyses, explanations, and comparisons of the relationships between
external agents and Central Asia. In the
first chapter, Kavalski explains that Central Asia is a region which has
experienced multiple phases of definition vis-à-vis international actors. On the one hand, it was viewed in the 1800s
as a theater of Russian victory in the contest for influence in the “Great
Game.” Kavalski’s main point in this
chapter is that the definition of what “Central Asia” means varies among the
international actors, and that these external agents have sought to reshape the
region according to their own interests since the 1991 dissolution of the
Soviet Union.
In the second chapter, Smith and
Kavalski describe the history and characteristics of the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization (NATO) and its transition from a military security alliance into
what resembles a political-military alliance.
Smith and Kavalski provide a brief synopsis of NATO’s recent attempts
and struggles to act as an agent of reform through various programs, such as
the Partnership for Peace (PfP) in Central Asia. They then conclude the chapter with a
comparative assessment of NATO’s efficacy in the five Central Asian states of
Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Turkmenistan. With the first four, Smith and Kavalski argue
that NATO experiences a limited agency; receiving mixed responses in
participation and lacking any real leverage over members. Kavalski arranges the first half of the book
to focus on the agency of international organizations in Central Asia, while
presenting reflection on Central Asian state relationships with inter-state
actors.
Maria Raquel Freire contributes with
an assessment of the performance of the OSCE in Central Asia. Freire provides a descriptive history of the
OSCE as an agent of socialization, reform, and security in Europe, as well as
its assumption of a role of expansion into Central Asia. Despite the amount of resources and staff
that the OSCE invests in Central Asia, Freire suggests in the chapter that the
organization lacks a clear and unified direction. Freire suggests that the OSCE consider the
following: improving its communication at all levels, defining specific goals
for all activities, protecting regional civil society groups in their
interactions with the state, encouraging selective bilateral rather than multilateral arrangements between the OSCE Central
Asian states, and falling back from grandiose projects to smaller, focused
goals. Her assessment is a relevant
reflection of the shared sentiment among Western donors involved with security
partnerships in Central Asia.
In chapter four, Ertan Efegil
describes the initial history of the European Union’s involvement in Central
Asia as somewhat lacking in direction, with the exception of a handful of bilateral
agreements and the TACIS (Technical Assistance to the Commonwealth of
Independent States) program. Efegil
follows with an analysis of European Union (EU) policy after the attacks on the
United States on 11 September 2001.
Following the September 11 attacks, the author highlights the EU’s
interests concerned regime stabilities, corruption, drug trafficking,
terrorism, and weapons of mass destruction.
According to Efegil, this expanded influence in security affairs ran
parallel to the rapid expansion of EU-sponsored economic initiatives in Central
Asia and the Caucasus. Efegil highlights
the numerous goals of the “Democratic Development and Good Governance” objectives,
most of which encourage human rights guarantees and cooperation between
leaders, but illustrates the recurring difficulty faced in realizing these
goals. In conclusion, Efegil recommends
that the EU further engage Central Asian economies through programs which will
motivate citizens to participate and profit from the global economy.
W. Andy Knight and Vandana Bhatia
write on the history and role of the United Nations (UN) in Central Asia in the
fifth chapter. They identify the
multitude of original mandates drafted by the UN and elaborate specifically
upon the expansion and promotion of the human security mandate. The authors state the UN’s definition of “human
security” in its 1994 UNDP Human Development Report as concerning economic,
food, health, environmental, personal, community and political securities. According to Knight and Bhatia, this marked a
transition in post-Cold War thinking about security. The authors suggest that the Central Asian states
are more likely to prefer resolutions and agreements with the UN because of its
neutrality, rather than arrangements enforced from external actors. Knight and Bhatia highlight the commitment of
Central Asian states in enforcing nuclear non-proliferation agreements,
particularly the 2008 Central Asian Nuclear-Weapon-Free-Zone (CANWFZ)
Treaty. The authors also describe the UN’s
role as mediators during the Tajik civil war, as well as their efforts to
combat drug, human and arms trafficking in the region through collaboration
with Central Asian governments. Although
Knight and Bhatia assert that the UN struggles to prompt regional governments
to promote gender equality and human rights, they do note that Kazakhstan
became the first Central Asian state to sign the Optional Protocol to the
Convention against Torture
In chapter six, Michael Clarke
highlights the recent agency of China and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization
(SCO) within the region. Clarke
introduces China’s foreign policy approach to the region as an avenue of its “peaceful
rise” in international affairs. Clarke
describes China’s approach as incorporating “soft” and “hard” elements of
regionalism; “soft” referring to a promotion of regional awareness and
community, and “hard” being a regionalism through specific interstate institutions. Clarke also refers to the 2001 declaration of
the SCO’s commitment to suppress terrorism, separatism, and religious extremism
within the region. Clarke notes that the
SCO seeks to promote security within the region as a means to increase economic
growth and development, which bears an interesting parallel to China’s ancient
imperial foreign policy of datong (“universal
harmony”). Clarke sums China’s bilateral
and SCO-based multilateral approach in the region as deliberate and mindfully-crafted,
and demonstrating success in manifesting its “peaceful rise” approach.
Marlene Laruelle approaches Russia’s
“vague” foreign policy in Central Asia in the seventh chapter. Laruelle categorizes Russian foreign policy
in Central Asia over the past two decades into three phases: disinterest
(1991-1995), multilateralism and renewed interest (1996-2000), Putin-initiated
security and economic partnerships (2000-present). Laruelle aptly characterizes this dynamic in
Russia’s Central Asian foreign policy as ebb and flow. Much like China’s goals, Laruelle states
Russia’s primary interests in the region are controlling energy resources and
maintaining regional security. She also
maps the direction of gas flow out of Central Asia, illustrating that it is
generally unidirectional and toward Russia.
While Laruelle highlights Russia’s mixed success in controlling Central
Asian regional security through multilateral partnerships such as the
Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), she explains that Russia relies
considerably on bilateral security arrangements between states within the region,
which include substantial troop assignments and sales of military equipment. In conclusion, Laruelle assesses Russia’s
Central Asia foreign policy as pragmatic, seeking to co-pt local economic and
political elites rather than coerce them, yet still lacking a cohesive, binding
regional organizational framework akin to that which existed under the Soviet
Union.
Matteo Fumagalli outlines the
changing role of the United States in the eighth chapter. Fumagalli asserts that the U.S. evolved from
a “friend in need” to a “threat” to the Central Asian regimes, and claims that
a U.S. approach of “Uzbekistan first” is diminishing its influence within the
region as a whole. Fumagalli notes that
although the U.S. policy promotes democracy within the region, this policy is
often trumped by security interests.
Thus, Fumagalli describes U.S. policy within the region has “conflicting
objectives” which inhibit its ability to levy sanctions against particular
Central Asian regimes which fail to guarantee human rights and transparent
democracy. Fumagalli concludes that
without being able to claim a sense of urgency related to Afghanistan and
regional security, the future of U.S. policy in the region remains obscure.
Brent E. Sasley provides an
assessment of Turkey’s foreign policy in Central Asia with chapter nine. In this chapter, Sasley suggests that Turkish
foreign policy in the region was only marginally affected by notions of shared
Turkic identity with Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. Sasley claims that pan-Turkism failed to
compete with the influence of Kemalism, thus defusing any future pan-Turkic
approach in Turkey’s foreign policy relations with Central Asia. The author claims that Turkic foreign policy in
the region was largely inhibited by this disorientation, despite its earlier expectations
of playing a significant influence.
Sasley illustrates the divide between Western and Turkish rhetoric of
the potential of Turkey’s influence in the region on the one hand, and the
actual policies which followed on the other.
Sasley concludes that Turkey’s role in the region is limited, and not
likely to play a significant role in the future.
In the tenth chapter, Pierre Pahlavi
and Afshin Hojati describe Iran’s approach to the region as pragmatic and
realist. Pahlavi and Hojati provide an
example of this prudent realism by highlighting Iran’s refusal to support
militant Islamist groups in the region, as well as Iran’s preservation of
friendly relations with Uzbekistan despite the mistreatment experienced by
Tajiks in the country. According to the
authors, Iran’s pragmatic approach to Central Asia has relied upon: (1)
developing bilateral economic and political relations, (2) developing pipelines
and infrastructure capacity, and (3) regional integration in pre-existing
economic partnerships such as the SCO. In
conclusion, the authors insist that Iran compensates for its inability to dominate
the security or political scene in the region by instead pursuing a pragmatic
approach of economic partnerships for growth and development.
Emilian Kavalski provides an
analysis of India’s “Look North” policy in chapter eleven. Kavalski identifies the “Look North” policy
as India policymakers’ emphasis to formulate proactive and meaningful policies
with respect to Central Asia. Kavalski
states that this policy has likely emerged from a sentiment of anxiety caused
by the instability, religious extremism, trafficking, and mixed reforms in the
region. Kavalski identifies two main
ambitions supporting india’s “Look North” policy: promoting secular democratic
ethos, and encouraging regional cooperation in safeguarding stability of the
states. Kavalski emphasizes that India’s
strongest path of influence Central Asian regional politics has been through
bilateral relations with Tajikistan. In
conclusion, though, Kavalski suggests that the “Look North” policy has had more
of a “no influence” in the region, failing to command a majority of respect among
Central Asian leaders.
David Walton describes Japanese
foreign policy in Central Asia as a product of its “adaptive state” model. Walton explains that Japan’s role in region
during the 1990’s was largely characterized by humanitarian assistance programs
and small partnerships for economic development. However, through the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations (ASEAN), Japan has realized itself as leader of intraregional
cooperation within Central Asia. Walton
illustrates how Japan works through ASEAN to promote peace, economic
development, intra-regional cooperation, and positive democratic relations
throughout the region. Watson remarks on
Japan’s achievement of influence in Central Asia comparable to that of China or
Russia, while not being a geographic neighbor of the region.
In the final chapter, Stephen Blank
provides an overview of external agency in Central Asia. He essentially summarizes the theoretical
meaning underlying the previous chapters into a writing which illustrates the
complexity of these external agencies and their related circumstances. He suggests that the absence of regional
cooperation within the region is the largest motivator for external
involvement. Blank also reminds the
reader that these external actors end up working toward overlapping security
goals: suppressing militant Islam, countering all forms of illegal trafficking,
and maintaining domestic security. Blank
notes that Central Asian leaders, considering this rapid influx of foreign agency
and patronage, have reaped a tremendous volume of material assistance. In conclusion, he suggests that this myriad
array of intervention should be thoughtfully managed and balanced in
implementation.
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