Richard Weitz
Richard Weitz, Ph.D., is a Senior Fellow and Director of the Center for Political-Military Analysis at the Hudson Institute in Washington, DC. Dr. Weitz would like to thank the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation for supporting his non-proliferation research.
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Articles by Richard Weitz
China’s Hypersonic Missiles: Methods and Motives
Introduction The People’s Republic of China (PRC) is pursuing various hypersonic delivery systems to augment its already impressive arsenal of precision strike capabilities. Hypersonic missiles are emerging as a highly...
Sino-Russian Cooperation in Outer Space: Taking Off?
Introduction China and Russia are the two most influential space players besides the United States. Whereas in the past NASA was Moscow’s partner of choice, many influential Russians now look...
The Sino-Russian Disinformation Axis During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Introduction For the first time, the European Commission has identified the People’s Republic of China (PRC), along with Russia and other actors, as responsible for conducting “targeted influence operations and...
The COVID-19 Pandemic Boosts Sino-Russian Cooperation
Introduction The immediate impact of the COVID-19 crisis on Sino-Russian relations has been to weaken the social and economic ties between the two states. Similar to circumstances in other countries,...
Assessing the Sino-Russian Baltic Sea Drill
From July 21 to July 28, 2017, the Chinese and Russian navies conducted a week of joint drills in the Baltic Sea, the first of their planned two-phase bilateral maritime...
Kazakhstan Finally Gains WTO Membership
On June 10, Kazakhstan and the World Trade Organization (WTO) announced they had reached an agreement for Kazakhstan’s accession to the trade body, bringing an end to an almost 20-year...
Assessing China’s Afghan Peace Play
Breaking with decades of distancing itself from Afghanistan’s various armed conflicts, the Chinese government has offered to facilitate peace talks between the Afghan national government and the Afghan Taliban insurgency...
Russia-US Nuclear Cooperation Implodes
Tensions between Russia and the United States, deepened by the Ukraine crisis, have now affected nuclear security cooperation—an area that had previously resisted the fallout from earlier disputes over ballistic...
Regional Maneuvering Precedes Obama-Xi Meeting at APEC Summit
As we approach this month’s 22nd Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in Beijing, relations between China and the United States stand at a tipping point. On the one hand,...
Beijing Expands its Multinational Toolkit at CICA Summit
President Xi Jinping of China proposed a new Asian security concept on May 21, 2014 at the fourth summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA)....
Seoul Seeks Central Asian Partners
During her week-long visit last month (June 2014) to Central Asia, South Korean President Park Geun-hye made further progress in advancing her “Eurasia Initiative,” which she announced in October 2013....
Moscow Security Conference Highlights Russian Fears of Colored Revolutions
The Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) hosted its third annual International Security Conference in Moscow on May 23–24. This year’s agenda was more diverse than the previous two conferences, which...
U.S.-China Security Transparency Highlights Divergences
The two high-profile visits by senior Obama administration officials had a major impact on U.S.-China relations last month. From April 7 to April 10, Chuck Hagel made his first official...
Kazakhstan Promotes Nuclear Security Agenda at Hague Summit
While generally trying to avoid confrontations with other countries, there are some issues on which Kazakhstani President Nursultan Nazarbayev refuses to compromise—one is regional integration, another is nuclear non-proliferation. At...
Kazakhstan Responds to Ukraine Crisis
The crisis in Ukraine has presented many challenges for Kazakhstan’s foreign policy—unwelcome comparisons between the domestic situations in both countries, growing tensions between Russia and the West, and disruptions to...
Symbolism over Substance: Sochi Showcases China-Russia Pragmatic Partnership
President Xi Jinping’s February 6–8 trip to the 22nd Winter Olympics in Sochi again shows how China uses symbolism to promote its pragmatic partnership with Russia. PRC rhetoric and actions...
Dutch Foreign Minister Visits Kazakhstan
On February 3, Dutch Foreign Minister Frans Timmermans made his first official visit to Kazakhstan. In Astana, he met with President Nursultan Nazarbayev, Speaker of the Senate of Parliament Kassym-Jomart...
President Nazarbayev Discusses Kazakhstan’s Foreign Policy Priorities
On February 5, President Nursultan Nazarbayev held his annual meeting with the foreign ambassadors and lead representatives of the local offices of major international organizations in Astana. More than 80...
Kazakhstan and El Salvador Establish Diplomatic Relations
On February 4, 2014, Kazakhstan and El Salvador established diplomatic relations. Kazakhstan’s permanent representative to the United Nations, Kairat Abdrakhmanov, and his Salvadorian counterpart, Enrique Garcia Gonzalez, signed a communiqué...
Nazarbayev’s State of Nation Address Reaffirms Bold Development Vision
In his January 17 State of the Nation Address, Kazakhstani President Nursultan Nazarbayev reaffirmed the core long-term vision of stable economic development found in the “Kazakhstan-2050” national development strategy that he proposed...
Kazakhstan Adopts New Policy Toward Foreign Migrants
In December 2013, Kazakhstani President Nursultan Nazarbayev signed a new law to simplify the issuing of work permits to foreign migrant workers by individual Kazakhstani citizens. The more flexible regulations,...
Decisive Year for Kazakhstan’s Eurasian Hub Ambitions
One priority for Kazakhstan this year is to execute the country’s first comprehensive transportation infrastructure development plan, which the government drafted in collaboration with the World Bank and adopted last...
China-US WMD Cooperation: Progress within Limits
The Sino-American security tensions of recent years, including over WMD issues, has tended to overshadow the substantial if quiet cooperation between China and the United States in countering horizontal WMD...
Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan Envisage Wide-Ranging Cooperation
On December 10, the Azerbaijan-Kazakhstan intergovernmental commission on economic cooperation met in Baku. Besides discussing various economic projects to boost mutual trade and investment, ministers from the two governments considered...
Kazakhstani President Establishes Ambitious Goal for Successor Generation
At the end of November, President Nursultan Nazarbayev said that Kazakhstan should aim to raise its GDP per capita fivefold, to $60,000 from the present $12,000, to join the ranks...
Kazakhstan-Kyrgyzstan Economic Relations Make Progress
On November 1, the fourth session of the Kazakhstani-Kyrgyzstani Intergovernmental Council met in Bishkek. The meeting sought to realize the agenda articulated by Kazakhstani Prime Minister Serik Akhmetov, who noted...
Eurasian Chemical Weapons Threat Persists
In October 2013, Russian authorities reportedly thwarted a possible attack by militant extremists against the Maradykovo chemical weapons (CW) storage and elimination facility in the Middle Volga region of Kirov....
China-U.S. Military Ties on the Upswing
In less than two years, China-U.S. military relations have experienced a remarkable turnaround. President Xi Jinping in particular has expressed strong support for developing more military exchanges as part of...
New Chinese Thinking on Sino-U.S. Relations?
Chinese analysts have been assessing whether recent developments, especially the presidential and U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED) meetings, have affected U.S.-China relations in major ways. Their general sense is...
Caspian Arms Race Complexities
The Center for Strategic Studies under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan (SAM) and Germany’s Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAS) hosted a conference this month in Baku on “Cooperation in...
EDM analysts cited in Eurasia Review article
Jamestown analysts Roger McDermott, Vladimir Socor, Pavel Felgenhauer, Georgiy Voloshin, Richard Weitz, and Dumitru Minzarari were cited in an article by Ariel Cohen in Eurasia Review.
Moscow Conference Ponders Eurasian Security Challenges
The May 23 Moscow conference on “Military and Political Aspects of European Security,” hosted by the Russian Ministry of Defense, saw an interesting admixture of old and new thinking on...
Richard Weitz quoted by Zawya
Jamestown analyst Richard Weitz was quoted by Zawya in an article titled "Central Asian rail link viable oil trade route option."
Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan Presidential Summit Boosts Joint Ties
Turkmenistani President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov made a state visit to Kazakhstan on May 10–11. Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbayev said that his counterpart’s visit “demonstrates the mutual desire to develop these fraternal...
Almaty Hosts ‘Heart of Asia’ Conference
On April 26, Almaty hosted the third Ministerial Conference of the Istanbul Process. Many foreign ministers attended, though some countries, such as the United States, were represented by their deputies....
Kazakhstan Expands Security and Economic Cooperation with Afghanistan
On April 17, the Kazakhstani government withdrew a proposed bill supporting the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan (ISAF) from the Majilis, but the foreign ministry was quick to explain...
Beijing Builds its Eurasian Transportation Network
China continues to make progress in building its Eurasian transportation networks with the aim of deepening its economic ties in Central and South Asia as well as providing a foundation...
Kazakhstani Foreign Minister Erlan Idrissov Conducts Shuttle Diplomacy in Central Asia
Kazakhstan’s mediation role in Iran, which resumes today, is not unique. Astana has striven to resolve conflicts throughout its Eurasian neighborhood. To this end, at the end of March, Kazakhstani...
Kazakhstani-Korean Economic Partnership Strives Ahead
Kazakhstan has become South Korea’s (also known as the Republic of Korea—ROK) main economic partner in Central Asia, and powerful complementarities exist between Astana’s desire for foreign capital and technologies,...
New South Korean Leader Affirms Strategic Partnership with Kazakhstan
Although the threat of war on the Korean Peninsula has been drawing most international attention, from the perspective of Central Asia, another interesting question is whether the new South Korean...
Kazakhstan Establishes Continuing Role in Iran Talks
The February 26–27 round of the nuclear negotiations involving Iran and the P5+1 group (all five permanent UN Security Council members and Germany) in Almaty went as well as might...
Kazakhstani-Japan Economic Partnership Drives Forward
On February 18–19, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Industry and New Technologies Asset Issekeshev led a delegation of Kazakhstani government and business leaders to Japan. They signed a number...
Kazakhstan Promotes Central Asian Interests Within OIC
In recent years, Kazakhstan has made an effort to deepen and expand cooperation with the world’s Islamic community. The focus has been on economic and cultural ties, but political and...
Kazakhstan Will Host Iran Nuclear Talks
Iran has accepted Kazakhstan’s offer to host the next round of its nuclear negotiations with the P5+1 group (all five permanent United Nations Security Council members and Germany) (Trend, February...
Kazakhstan Oil and Gas Output Rises Slightly in 2012
On January 28, 2013, Kazakhstan’s Oil and Gas Ministry announced the country had exported 68.62 million tons of crude oil and condensed natural gas in 2012, a 3.3-percent rise over...
Kazakhstan Investment Part 2: Data Confirms Kazakhstan’s Status as Leading Global Investor
*To read Part One, please click here. According to the data released in December 2012 by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Kazakhstan’s stock of cumulative foreign investment abroad was around...
Kazakhstan Investment, Part 1: Europeans Dominate Inward Foreign Direct Investment
Despite common perceptions that China and Russia are the main external influences on Kazakhstan’s economy, newly released information from the National Bank of Kazakhstan shows that, as of the end...
Sino-Kazakh Ties on a Roll
The construction of China’s New Eurasian Land Bridge through Central Asia has been gathering speed in recent months and looks to make even greater progress in 2013. At the end...
President Nazarbayev Announces Ambitious National Goals in Coming Decades
In his State of the Nation address to the parliament on December 14, 2012, President Nursultan Nazarbayev outlined a new strategy for Kazakhstan’s development through 2050. The document, developed by...
Presidential Summit Drives Kazakhstani-French Relations Forward
During his recent visit to France on November 21–23, Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbayev met with his counterpart Francois Hollande for the first time since Hollande became French president in May...
Silk Wind Project in Central Asia and South Caucasus Gains Speed
In recent months, Kazakhstan and Georgia have joined with Azerbaijan and Turkey to make considerable progress in their Silk Wind Project, which aims to construct a high-speed, multimodal container transportation...
Kazakhstan Elected Member of UN Human Rights Council
On November 12, the 67th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) elected Kazakhstan for the first time to the UN Human Rights Council, for the 2013–2015 term, with...
Kazakhstan-China Military Exchanges Continue
Earlier this month, a delegation from the Chinese National Defense University made an official visit to Kazakhstan, marking yet another high-profile exchange between the two countries’ defense establishments. According to...
New Kazakhstan-US Energy Partnership Plan Adopted
The latest meeting of the Kazakhstani-US Energy Partnership Commission took place in Washington on October 15–16, 2012. The two delegation heads, Kazakhstan’s Minister of Oil and Gas Sauat Mynbayev and...
Kazakhstani-Turkish Security Cooperation Deepens Within the CICA Framework
When President Nursultan Nazarbayev visited Turkey earlier this month (see EDM, October 19), one of the issues he discussed with Turkish officials was the two countries’ joint leadership of the...
Kazakhstan-Turkey Presidential Summit Deepens Economic Ties
On October 10–11, Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbayev conducted an official visit to Turkey, which focused on deepening economic ties between these already strong partners. The main event was the first...
China Steps Up Rhetoric against U.S. Missile Defense
Chinese officials are becoming increasingly vocal about U.S. ballistic missile defense (BMD) developments in the Asia-Pacific region as well as the newly elevated U.S. security profile in their region resulting...
Kazakhstan’s Nazarbayev Center Moves Into High Gear
The Nazarbayev Center was created in January 2012 to study and promote Kazakhstan’s history of statehood—its cultural, economic, humanitarian, and political development (Interfax-Kazakhstan, January 23). The Center includes an in-house...
New Kazakh Foreign Minister Vows to Deepen US-Kazakhstan Strategic Partnership
On September 28, Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbayev appointed Erlan Idrissov, who had served as ambassador to Washington for five years, as the country’s new foreign minister. Idrissov, 53 and a...
New Economic Initiatives in Uzbekistan Offer Opportunities but Face Challenges
Uzbekistan potentially has one of the strongest economies in Eurasia, but certain weaknesses constrain its development. The country has been experiencing strong growth rates of 6-8 percent annually for the...
Nazarbayev-Karimov Summit Imparts New Momentum to Kazakhstani-Uzbekistani Relations
In his first official bilateral visit to Kazakhstan since April 2008, President Islam Karimov and other senior Uzbekistani officials discussed a range of important bilateral, regional and international issues with...
Astana Forum Against Nuclear Tests Attracts Global Attention and Support
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...
Holy Sultan Mosque Marks Kazakhstan’s Muslim Revival
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...
Beijing Doubles Down on Kim Dynasty
Following months of confused signals regarding the relationship between China and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK or North Korea), it now looks like their ties has weathered the...
Olympic Successes Raise Kazakhstan’s Prestige
“Sky of golden sun, Field of golden seed, Legend of courage – Take a look at my country! From ancient times, our heroic glory emerged.” These first words of Kazakhstan’s...
Congress Reviews Central Asia (Part Two): Non-Security Issues
Much of the July 24 hearing of the Subcommittee on Europe and Eurasia of the House Foreign Affairs Committee (for Part One of this article, detailing security issues, see EDM,...
Congress Reviews Central Asia (Part One): Security Issues
Last week, the US Congress held one of its most comprehensive hearings in years regarding US policy toward Central Asia. The members and invited expert speakers discussed the diverse goals...
Kazakhstan and Russia Complete “Aldaspan-2012” Military Exercises
From July 7 to July 12, Russia and Kazakhstan held their latest joint military exercise, “Aldaspan-2012.” Although Kazakhstan’s security priorities lie in countering terrorists, insurgents, and other small groups of...
Withdrawal of Uzbekistan from CSTO Facilitates Kazakhstan’s Chairmanship
Bolat Baikadamov, director of the Nur Otan Parliamentary Institute, worries that “Uzbekistan’s withdrawal from the Collective Security Treaty Organization [CSTO] […] weakens both the organization and the very situation of...
China and NATO: Grappling with Beijing’s Hopes and Fears
On July 4, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said he hoped to expand the alliance’s dialogue with China, because “NATO needs to better understand China and define areas where...
Astana Backs Wider SCO Regional Role
On June 6-7, 2012, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) held its 12th annual summit in Beijing. The meeting’s major outputs included granting Afghanistan observer status, designating Turkey as an SCO...
Kazakhstan Pledges Support to NATO’s Afghanistan Transition Strategy
Kazakhstan and the other Central Asian countries played important roles at last week’s NATO summit in Chicago thanks to the session’s emphasis on Afghanistan and partnerships. Nonetheless, the Central Asian...
Kazakhstan Responds to Russian Plans for New Space Facility
Russia’s recently reaffirmed plans to decrease use of the Baikonur Cosmodrome presents Kazakhstan with both a challenge and an opportunity. The joint use of the facility over the past two...
Logistics and the Afghan Endgame
The United States and its allies have undertaken a sustained effort since 2008 to develop sea, ground, and air transportation routes to Afghanistan’s north, through the territories of the former...
China’s Awkward Presence at Seoul Nuclear Security Summit
President Hu Jintao joined 54 heads of state, deputy prime ministers and foreign ministers at the March 26-27 Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul. The main objective of the summit was...
Presidents of Kazakhstan, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia Attend Seoul Nuclear Summit
Several Eurasian leaders were among the 54 heads of state, deputy prime ministers, or foreign ministers who attended the March 26-27 Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul, South Korea. The main...
Azerbaijan Breaks Iranian-Linked Spy Network
The South Caucasus has emerged as a battleground between Iran and its adversaries. Recent weeks have seen Iranian assassination attempts against Israeli diplomats in Baku and Tbilisi, a massive Israeli-Azerbaijani...
Experts Weigh Pros and Cons of Establishing Uranium Fuel Bank in Kazakhstan
Presidents Nursultan Nazarbayev and Barack Obama will likely discuss Kazakhstan’s proposal to establish the world’s first international nuclear fuel bank when they meet at the Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul...
Kremlin Seeks to Alarm Southern Neighbors About Cooperating with the Pentagon
It is well-known that the aggressive foreign policy of Iran’s clerical regime makes Central Asian governments uneasy. Most obviously, Iran and its Caspian neighbors have a longstanding dispute over Tehran’s...
Kazakhstan-China Transportation Opportunities and Challenges
At the end of November 2011, PRC Vice Premier Zhang Dejiang and Kazakhstani Minister Aset Isekeshev attended the inauguration of the construction of the first transnational free-trade cooperation center in...
Economic and Security Ties Overshadow US-Kazakh Political Differences
From January 31 through February 1, Yerzhan Kazykhanov made his first visit to Washington as Kazakhstan’s new Minister of Foreign Affairs. He met Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and a...
Western Investors Ponder Kazakhstani Market After Zhanaozen
One reason why Kazakhstan, despite its small population and remote location from the world’s major economic and political centers of influence, has been able to exercise considerable influence in global...
Parsing China’s Policy Toward Iran
On November 8th, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) released a report that said Iran appeared to be carrying out research activities “relevant to the development of a nuclear weapon”...
Putin and the Future of the Sino-Russian Partnership
Vladimir Putin, Russia’s current prime minister, chose to make his first foreign trip to China after his announcement in late September that he would run again for president. This led...
China’s Uranium Quest Part 2: The Turn to Foreign Markets
On August 24, the head of Kazakhstan’s national nuclear monopoly Kazatomprom announced plans to increase its uranium fuel pellet shipments to China by one hundredfold, from 2 metric tons this...
China’s Uranium Quest Part I: Domestic Shortages Fuel Global Ambition
China’s plans to construct more nuclear power plants in coming years than any other country have to surmount a major obstacle: China lacks sufficient domestic uranium to power them. China’...
Balancer-in-Chief: China Assumes SCO Chair
At the June 15 leadership summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), the rotating chairmanship of the institution was transferred to the People’s Republic of China (PRC). China has been...
Beijing Confronts Japanese Nuclear Meltdown
The nuclear crises at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in neighboring Japan that began with the March 11 earthquake and tsunami has induced the Chinese government to pause and...
Uzbekistan’s Growing Role in Beijing’s Central Asian Strategy
The People's Republic of China (PRC) is pursuing a variety of objectives in Central Asia. These objectives include securing regional states' support in suppressing anti-Beijing Uighur nationalists and potential terrorist...
China’s Growing Clout in the SCO: Peace Mission 2010
The People’s Republic of China (PRC) engages in a variety of military exchanges and activities with the other members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). The most recent major exercise,...
Afghanistan in China’s Emerging Eurasian Transport Corridor
When Chinese officials consider their international economic interests, Afghanistan and Central Asia (sometimes referred to as “Greater Central Asia”) naturally come to mind. These countries possess an abundant supply of...
Karzai’s State Visit Highlights Beijing’s Afghan Priorities
From March 23 to March 25, Afghan President Hamid Karzai conducted a state visit to China. The trip underscored the People's Republic of China's (PRC) support for the Karzai-led government,...
Priorities and Challenges in China’s Naval Deployment in the Horn of Africa
For a few days in mid-November, it looked like the Chinese government was prepared to take the unprecedented step to lead a multinational security operation involving the armed forces of...
Maritime Confrontation Highlights Troubled State of China-U.S. Defense Diplomacy
The recriminations that flared between the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the United States over the latest Sino-American maritime confrontation makes evident how little progress has been made in...
China’s Nuclear Gambit
Economic factors are clearly driving Chinese interest in strengthening their country’s underdeveloped nuclear energy sector. At present, China’s 11 operating nuclear reactors produce less than 2 percent of the country’s...
Persistent Barriers to Sino-American Military Dialogue
Military ties between China and the United States have lagged behind their economic and political relationships throughout the Bush administration. In recent months, however, exchanges between their national security communities...
Persistent Barriers to Sino-American Military Dialogue
Military ties between China and the United States have lagged behind their economic and political relationships throughout the Bush administration. In recent months, however, exchanges between their national security communities...
The Sino-Russian Arms Dilemma
For over a decade, Russian military exports to China have constituted the most important dimension of the two countries’ security relationship. Since the two governments signed an agreement on military-technical...
The Sino-Russian Arms Dilemma
For over a decade, Russian military exports to China have constituted the most important dimension of the two countries’ security relationship. Since the two governments signed an agreement on military-technical...
The Sino-Russian Arms Dilemma
For over a decade, Russian military exports to China have constituted the most important dimension of the two countries’ security relationship. Since the two governments signed an agreement on military-technical...
Persistent Barriers to Sino-American Military Dialogue
Military ties between China and the United States have lagged behind their economic and political relationships throughout the Bush administration. In recent months, however, exchanges between their national security communities...