Central Asia in World Politics (3 credit units, 108 hours)

Objectives: Developing a comprehensive understanding of the role played by Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan) in the contemporary international relations and global political, economic and social processes; revealing major factors and trends shaping the emergence and development of Central Asian countries’ foreign policies, of their relations with Russia and other powers with substantial interests in this region; developing an understanding of the scope and dynamics of economic, migratory and humanitarian links between Central Asia and Siberia as well as of their security interdependence; learning the art of tracing the dynamics of fundamental parameters of the regional security environment, of analyzing its implications for Russian national interests and security and assessing the tendencies and prospects of Central Asian countries’ political and economic development.

Competences A graduate must know: the specifics and major trends of the development of international relations in Central Asia as well as of political, economic and social processes in the countries of the region; the major phases, problems and tendencies of development of relations between Central Asian countries and Russia and other powers active in the region; the fundamental parameters of the regional security environment. A graduate must be able to: reveal and analyze the major political, social and economic problems and contradictions influencing the structural characteristics and dynamics of international relations in Central Asia; discern the major areas of multilateral and bilateral inter-state cooperation in Central Asia; discern the specifics of Central Asian countries’ foreign policies, political and economic developments as well as of Russian interests in this region; analyze and make scenarios of the development of economic, migratory and humanitarian links between Central Asia and Siberia, make assessments of the security interdependence between Central Asia and Siberia.

Major units of the course: Central Asia in Global Political and Economic Developments Major trends: - consolidation of sovereignty and foreign-policy actorness; - emergence, consolidation and the beginning of the decay of authoritarian regimes; - growth of social tensions and protest sentiments; - integration into world economy as raw material suppliers; - emergence as workforce exporters; - re-agrarianization of economies; - growth of poverty and social inequalities; - growing deficit of water and land resources; - degradation of education and health-care systems.

Central Asian Regional Security Complex. Traditional and Modern Challenges «Poles» of the complex: Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. Axes of social construction: struggle for leadership between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan; allied relations between Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan; tensions between Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan; confrontation between Uzbekistan and Tajikistan; Turkmenistan’s self-isolation. Institutional superstructure: dissolution of the Organization “Central Asian Cooperation”; International Aral Sea Salvation Fund (headed by the Council of Heads of State); Interstate Commission for Water Coordination.

Russian Policy in Central Asia in the 1990s and the 2000s Projects of Economic and Military-Political Integration: within the CIS framework (the first half of the 1990s); Customs Union of the 1990s; Eurasian Economic Community; Collective Security Treaty Organization; Customs Union and the Joint Economic Space of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan; Toward the Eurasian Economic Union? Bilateral Relations: consolidation of the union with Kazakhstan; crisis in Kyrgyzstan and Russian reaction; attempts to retain the influence in Tajikistan; fictitious alliance and genuine contradictions with Uzbekistan; weak presence in Turmenistan. Major Geostrategic Problems: Uncertain future of Afghanistan; China’s economic expansion; American influence in Central Asia; Radical Islam as a Challenge.

Central Asia in International Organizations All the countries of the region are members of: the UN; the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) – Kazakhstan held presidency in 2010; the Islamic Cooperation Organization (ICO) – Kazakhstan held presidency in 2011; the CIS (Turkmenistan – associate member); NATO’s Partnership for Peace Program; Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) (Turkmenistan – associate member). All the countries of the region except Turkmenistan are members of: the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO); the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (СICA).

Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan are members of: the Eurasian Economic Community (EurAsEC); the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO); Eurasian Development Bank. Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan are members of the Turkic States Cooperation Council. Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan are members of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM). Kazakhstan is member of the Customs Union and the Joint Economic Space with Russia and Belarus. Kyrgyzstan is member of the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Recommended Topics of Master Dissertations 1. The Problems of Interaction between Russia and Central Asian Countries: the Coverage in Siberian Media. 2. Economic and Humanitarian Cooperation between a Siberian Region and a Central Asian Country. 3. The Project of the Eurasian Economic Union: utopia or a real opportunity?