Revolutions and Religion in Central Asia
Unable to achieve change through the ballot box, the Kyrgyz and Uzbeks have taken to the streets in an effort to turn out their authoritarian leaders. Despite divergent outcomes, the…
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Kyrgyzstan
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Interpreting the Color Revolutions and Prospects for Post-Soviet Democratization: Breaking the Cycles
The Orange Revolution in Ukraine, the Rose Revolution in Georgia, and the Tulip Revolution in Kyrgyzstan have been widely interpreted as democratic breakthroughs. This largely misses the most important point.…
Russia-NIS Relations Beyond the Color Revolutions: Are the Shifts Durable?
During a short period of nine months, the joyful euphoria of many observers about the Orange Revolution in Ukraine gave way to shock and mixed emotion about the Tulip Revolution…
Russia’s Counterrevolutionary Offensive in Central Asia
Counterterrorism has never been a convincing Russian strategy for Central Asia. At the start of Vladimir Putin’s presidency, attempts to impress upon the leaders of the five Central Asian states that only…
Difficult Engagements: Political Lessons from the K2 Experience
In July 2005, the government of Uzbekistan expelled the United States from the Karshi-Khanabad (K2) air base from which U.S. forces had conducted reconnaissance and support missions for Operation Enduring…
Understanding the Impact of the K2 Closure
On July 29, 2005, President Islam Karimov ordered the U.S. military facility at Karshi-Khanabad (K2), Uzbekistan to close down within 180 days. It now appears virtually certain that U.S. forces…
Small Steps for U.S. Security Interest in Kyrgyzstan
The United States faces a dilemma in Kyrgyzstan because the two countries’ short-term and long-term security interests may be in conflict with each other. For the next few years, the United States…
Central Asia’s Stability and Russia’s Security
In August 2000, as in 1999, Islamic rebels tested the strength of Central Asian government forces. Kyrgyzstan was badly hit again; what is more, Uzbek soldiers struggled to battle the…
Promoting a Strong Civil Society: US Foreign Assistance and Russian NGOs
In February 1997, President Clinton launched the Partnership for Freedom, a new program of bilateral assistance for democracy promotion in Russia and the other NIS countries. This program asks for…
In Its Own Image: Toward a Re-conceptualization of Central Asia
With the collapse of the USSR came the dislocation of the Soviet republics–not only from their former political and economic status within the former Soviet Union, but also from their…