The year 2012 was certainly rich in events for Kazakhstan. In mid-January, the early parliamentary elections brought two more parties to the country’s legislative body, although none of them gained enough seats to break Nur Otan’s monopoly. While the diversity of opinions within the country’s... MORE

The past year was an eventful one in Tajikistan on the economic, political and military fronts, with both domestic and regional ramifications. Importantly for Tajikistan’s economy, in May 2012, construction on the controversial hydroelectric Rogun Dam on the Vaksh River—a tributary of the Amu Darya... MORE

On December 4, 2012, the deputy chairman of Kazakhstan’s National Security Committee, Kabdulkarim Abdikazymov, said to the press that Jund al-Khilafa was a “real threat” to Kazakhstan’s national security (Tengrinews, December 4, 2012). Similarly, on November 26, 2012, the Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on... MORE

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 the government with the help of national and foreign experts, seeks to establish “the vector... MORE

While the concept of a “New Silk Road” of trade, transport and telecommunications connections across Eurasia was formally endorsed by the US State Department, it is Beijing and Chinese companies that have taken the lead in realizing the immense infrastructure projects that will tie the... MORE

Residents of Uzbekistan’s enclave of Sokh located within Batken province (southern Kyrgyzstan) attacked Kyrgyz border guards and took, according to different sources, between 30 and 40 citizens of Kyrgyzstan hostage in a series of events that began on January 5. Border guards from Kyrgyzstan were... MORE

Local elections in many of Kyrgyzstan’s major towns have strengthened the Social Democratic Party of Kyrgyzstan (SDPK), which is led by the country’s president, Almazbek Atambayev. Atambayev’s party will now hold a plurality of council seats in the capital Bishkek, where the mayor’s office is... MORE

In late August, a series of drone strikes in Northern Waziristan were reported to have killed a number of jihadist leaders. Most media attention focused on the possible demise of Badruddin Haqqani, son of the fabled mujahideen leader, with conflicting reports about whether he had... MORE

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 2012. The successful encounter showed that Hollande wants to continue the high level of cooperation... MORE

On December 5, Turkmenistan’s capital of Ashgabat hosted a summit of heads of state of Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries. The presidents of Moldova, Kyrgyzstan and Azerbaijan did not attend this forum, however. Instead of President Ilham Aliyev, Prime Minister Arthur Rasizade represented Baku... MORE