TURKMEN OPPOSITION UNITES, BUT REMAINS WEAK
By Hooman Peimani (12/3/2003 issue of the CACI Analyst)
BACKGROUND: Unlike Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan did not experience the emergence of many anti-regime political groups upon its independence in 1991. As the worsening economic situation and the lowering living standards all over Central Asia created a growing dissatisfied population in the region, the establishment of Turkmenistan’s totalitarian regime prevented in that country the translation of emerging popular dissatisfaction into an anti-regime movement capable of challenging the ruling elite. Thanks to its repressive measures, the Turkmen regime created around President Saparmurad Niyazov’s cult of personality simply removed the possibility of active and growing opposition groups inside the country.GEORGIA’S REVOLUTION: RUSSIA’S SOUR GRAPES
By Stephen Blank (12/3/2003 issue of the CACI Analyst)
BACKGROUND: Shevarnadze was clearly a pro-Western figure but his hands were tied by his own internal misrule, Georgia’s weakness, and thus its vulnerability to Russian pressure. Countless statements attest to his desire to join NATO or at least have it protect Georgian energy pipelines. The new regime is even more forthright about its intention to integrate with the West and restore Georgia\'s integrity.GEORGIA’S ROSE REVOLUTION ROOTED IN LAW
By Claude Zullo (12/3/2003 issue of the CACI Analyst)
BACKGROUND: Pundits in the United States and abroad have had unanimous praise for the swift yet peaceful manner that led to the demise of the Shevardnadze government. Still, some question the legality of the tactics used by Georgia’s opposition movement. A closer look however reveals a transition that was not only brought about within the parameters of the law, but one that was actually brought about through the use of law.DAGESTAN’S POLITICS OF MURDER: THE UNSURPRISING DEATH OF NADIRSHAYKH KHACHILAYEV
By Andrew McGregor (11/19/2003 issue of the CACI Analyst)
BACKGROUND: Nadirskhaykh Khachilayev’s car was approaching his home in Makhachkala when a passing Lada motorcar opened fire with machine-guns, killing the 44-year-old leader of the Lak community. Police claimed their investigation led to three unidentified Chechen suspects after finding a burnt-out Lada on the outskirts of Makhachkala. While it is possible the Lak leader was the victim of a political assassination, he may have been the victim of a blood feud, arising after the deaths of several ethnic Dargin policemen in the 1998 Islamist assault on Parliament.Visit also
Staff Publications
Op-ed Mamuka Tsereteli & James Jay Carafano, The West Can't Forget What Russia Did To Georgia, 19FortyFive, August 6, 2021.
Op-ed S. Frederick Starr & Michael Doran, To Avert Disaster in Afghanistan, Look to Central Asia, Wall Street Journal, July 11, 2021.
Op-ed S. Frederick Starr & Eldor Aripov, Can Afghanistan Be Part of An Integrated Central Asia? The National Interest, July 9, 2021.
Op-ed Mamuka Tsereteli and James Jay Carafano, Tsereteli & Carafano: Putin threatens Ukraine – here's the danger and what US, allies should do about it, Fox News, April 13, 2021.
Op-ed S. Enders Wimbish, US withdrawal from Afghanistan spells dangerous geopolitical realignments, The Hill, April 2, 2021.
Silk Road Paper Svante E. Cornell and S. Frederick Starr, Kazakhstan's Role in International Mediation under First President Nursultan Nazarbayev, November 2020.
Analysis Svante E. Cornell, How Did Armenia So Badly Miscalculate Its War with Azerbaijan? The National Interest, November 14, 2020.
Op-ed Svante E. Cornell, Halting the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan: Russian Peacekeeping is not the Solution, Washington Times, October 20, 2020.
Analysis Svante E. Cornell, Can America Stop a Wider War between Armenia and Azerbaijan? The National Interest, October 5, 2020.
Article S. Frederick Starr, America Inches Toward a Serious Central Asia Strategy, AFPC Defense Dossier, June 3, 2020.
Silk Road Paper Farrukh Irnazarov and Roman Vakulchuk, Discovering Opportunities in the Pandemic? Four Economic Response Scenarios for Central Asia, July 2020.
Book S. Frederick Starr, Eldar Ismailov, Nazim Muzaffarli, Basic Principles for the Rehabilitation of Azerbaijan’s Post-Conflict Territories, 2010.