CACI Analyst, May 01, 2013
China Deepens Energy Cooperation In Central Asia
by Robert M. Cutler (05/01/2013 issue of the CACI Analyst)
Days after the conclusion of the late-March summit in Moscow between Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbaev met with Xi during a visit to China to attend the multilateral Boao Forum of Asia (BFA), which styles itself the Asian Davos. The two leaders established a new bilateral business council, signed numerous agreements for economic cooperation including infrastructure construction, and deepened still further Chinese participation in the development and bringing-to-market (and especially bringing-to-China) of Kazakhstan's impressive raw materials resources, most of all energy.
Explaining Kazakhstan's Mediation Mission
by Richard Weitz (05/01/2013 issue of the CACI Analyst)
Kazakhstan’s government is atypical among Central Asian countries for its prominent efforts to reduce tensions in Eurasia as well as to increase understanding, trust, and cooperation between different regions, cultures, and religions. The Kazakhstani government’s motives in seeking such a prominent role are straightforward. It aims to reduce security threats and advance economic interests. It also wants to elevate the country’s profile in world affairs by hosting prominent international gatherings and by making visible contributions to international peace and prosperity. Kazakhstan’s main problem is that Astana’s limited diplomatic and other resources limit its ability to pursue its ambitious foreign-policy agenda.
CACI FORUM: Investing in the Caucasus, Greater Central Asia and Mongolia: Challenges and Opportunities
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
CACI FORUM
"Central Asia-Caucasus Analyst"
Investing in the Caucasus, Greater Central Asia and Mongolia: Challenges and Opportunities
CACI FORUM: Central Asia’s Quest for a Useable Past: The Search for the Ancient Sogdians
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
CACI FORUM
"Central Asia-Caucasus Institute"
Central Asia’s Quest for a Useable Past: The Search for the Ancient Sogdians!?
All new countries must face the problem of their past. In an effort to affirm a useable past, some countries have simply to recall what they have never forgotten; others seek to rediscover what they have lost; while still others fabricate new pasts for themselves that better suit their current needs. In this Forum distinguished archaeologist and historian Aleksandr Naymark will show how globalizing Central Asians have followed the second course, rediscovering the amazing ancient Sogdians.
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Joint Center Publications
Analysis Niklas Swanström and Leah Oppenheimer, "Invisible Ink: Looking for the Lost Trade between China, Russia, and Central Asia", ISDP Policy Brief, 13 March 2013. 
New Silk Road Paper S. Frederick Starr with Adib Farhadi, Finish the Job: Jump-Start the Afghan Economy, December 2012.
Conference Report Cheryl Benard, Eli Sugarman, and Holly Rehm, Cultural Heritage vs. Mining on the New Silk Road? Finding Technical Solutions for Mes Aynak and Beyond (in cooperation with the Alliance for the Restoration of Cultural Heritage) December 2012.
Article Svante E. Cornell, "The 'Afghanization of the North Caucasus: Causes and Implications of a Changing Conflict", in Stephen Blank, ed., Russia's Homegrown Insurgency: Jihad in the North Caucasus, Carlisle, PA: U.S. Army War College Strategic Studies Institute, 2012.