...Johan Engvall Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has backfired, weakening Moscow economically, politically, and militarily, and these setbacks have undermined Moscow’s strategic position in its so-called near abroad. Russia had considered Central Asia one of its most secure regions of influence, thanks...

...Aksana Ismailbekova Despite the violence of Soviet rule, Soviet policies improved the status of women in Central Asia. The collapse of the Soviet Union ushered in a restoration of revival of Islam and patriarchal customs. In Kyrgyzstan, Islamic organizations are taking an increasingly active role...

...Diana T. Kudaibergenova Recent events in Kazakhstan show that political art has the potential to be a potent form of protest in some of the most authoritarian states in contemporary Central Asia. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, artists in Kazakhstan and elsewhere in the region began turning...

... are increasingly consequential, but their model of paternalistic patronage may not represent what all Central Asians want. © 2021 by The Regents of the University of California 2021 trust patronage nonstate actors Central Asia Kyrgyzstan Islam A centerpiece of reputation and trust...

... by The Regents of the University of California 2021 China Central Asia Belt and Road Initiative trade development The emergence of COVID-19 initially loomed as a catastrophe for the leadership of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Although Beijing later tried to change the narrative...

... to reenter and start a new grace period. © 2020 by The Regents of the University of California 2020 Russia migration labor Central Asia COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic has had an immediate and unprecedented impact on the everyday lives of Central Asian migrant workers in Russia...

...Catherine Owen This essay considers the nature of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in Central Asia. Rather than a “grand strategy” coordinated by Beijing, it is better seen as a decentered, contradictory network of transnational clientelist relationships and semiautonomous profit-seeking...