Field Reports
ARMENIAN GOVERNMENT SEEKS TO BOOST AGRICULTURE
By Haroutiun Khachatrian (5/11/2011 issue of the CACI Analyst)
When the Armenian economy abruptly collapsed by over 14 percent in 2009 due to the global economic crisis, there were hopes that the economy would rapidly recover in the following year. However, the recovery was very slow in 2010 with a GDP growth of only 2.6 percent.
INTERNATIONAL COMMISSION REPORTS ON KYRGYZSTAN’S ETHNIC CONFLICT
By Joldosh Osmonov (5/11/2011 issue of the CACI Analyst)
On May 3, the Independent International Commission of Inquiry (Kyrgyzstan Inquiry Commission – KIC) presented its long-awaited report on the inter-ethnic conflict in southern Kyrgyzstan that took place in June last year. The KIC found the Uzbek minority to have been disproportionally victimized in the conflict, provided evidence of official complicity, and claimed that some of the violent acts committed can be considered crimes against humanity. The report stated that increasing political fanaticism based on ethno-nationalistic sentiments in the wake of April 7 events became the main reason for the tragic conflict.
TAJIKISTAN SEEKS TO EASE DEPENDENCE ON RUSSIAN OIL
By Suhrob Majidov (5/11/2011 issue of the CACI Analyst)
From April 1, 2011, Russia has increased export dues for oil products for countries outside the Customs Union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan. The export due has increased by up to US$ 283 for one ton of refined oil and up to US$ 198 for one ton of dark-oil products.
TURKISH ELECTIONS COULD OPEN WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY IN TURKISH-ARMENIAN RELATIONS
By Armen Grigoryan (4/27/2011 issue of the CACI Analyst)
The upcoming parliamentary elections in Turkey should clarify whether Turkish-Armenian relations may improve in a short-term perspective, opening for a resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and regional cooperation in the South Caucasus. Regardless of the outcome of the elections, it will clarify the fate of the Turkish-Armenian protocols signed in October 2009. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s AKP party seems capable of securing a majority in the newly elected parliament and to form a new government.
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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.