http://centralasia.foreignpolicyblogs.com/2008/04/11/389/ American Foreign Policy Analysis in Central Asia Thu, 08 Jan 2009 08:59:18 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=wordpress-mu-1.0 http://centralasia.foreignpolicyblogs.com/2008/04/11/389/#comment-4482 Mon, 08 Dec 2008 17:22:00 +0000 http://centralasia.foreignpolicyblogs.com/2008/04/11/389/#comment-4482 [...] Well, since Karimov’s heart is still beating, so I’m gonna have to go with the former.   Karimov easily won his reelection and the country was relatively stable throughout the year.  However, there were some political openings regarding political prisoners and foreign and domestic media outlets in exchange with more opportunities with the West, but alas, progress in these and other political venues has been slow to say the least. 3. Kyrgyzstan: The Tulip Revolution will further regionalize, presenting new opportunities for destabilizing elements. Bakiev in response will continue to tighten down on security, and democratic gains will be lost. The best hope here is Kazakhstan’s interest in economic development of its neighbor and the transfer of diplomatic skills to Kyrgyz leadership–a more long-range position for democratization. [...] […] Well, since Karimov’s heart is still beating, so I’m gonna have to go with the former.   Karimov easily won his reelection and the country was relatively stable throughout the year.  However, there were some political openings regarding political prisoners and foreign and domestic media outlets in exchange with more opportunities with the West, but alas, progress in these and other political venues has been slow to say the least. 3. Kyrgyzstan: The Tulip Revolution will further regionalize, presenting new opportunities for destabilizing elements. Bakiev in response will continue to tighten down on security, and democratic gains will be lost. The best hope here is Kazakhstan’s interest in economic development of its neighbor and the transfer of diplomatic skills to Kyrgyz leadership–a more long-range position for democratization. […]

]]> http://centralasia.foreignpolicyblogs.com/2008/04/11/389/#comment-2499 Mon, 21 Apr 2008 15:35:19 +0000 http://centralasia.foreignpolicyblogs.com/2008/04/11/389/#comment-2499 [...] On April 11, I reported on the EU Troika-Central Asian summit held in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. The post and most media outlets focused on energy relations and human rights issues between the EU representatives and all of the CA leaders present. It was reported that during the summit there was talk of a growing relationship between the EU and specific CA states (Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan) regarding energy supply and diversification, but my conclusion and others’ held out little hope of any real progress on this issue. [...] […] On April 11, I reported on the EU Troika-Central Asian summit held in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. The post and most media outlets focused on energy relations and human rights issues between the EU representatives and all of the CA leaders present. It was reported that during the summit there was talk of a growing relationship between the EU and specific CA states (Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan) regarding energy supply and diversification, but my conclusion and others’ held out little hope of any real progress on this issue. […]

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