Explaining the Kyrgyz-Tajik Border Clash: Hypotheses in Search of Corroboration
By Richard Weitz July 14, 2021, the CACI Analyst A century ago, the Italian author Luigi Pirandello wrote a three-act play entitled “Six Characters in Search of an Author,” which explored the...
View ArticleU.S. out, Taliban in: Central Asia Facing New Challenges from Afghanistan
By Farkhod Tolipov August 20, 2021, the CACI Analyst In April 2021, Washington began the long-awaited withdrawal of its military forces from Afghanistan, a process that is expected to be completed by...
View ArticleU.S. Troop Withdrawal from Afghanistan Risks Fueling a New India-Pakistan...
By Umair Jamal August 25, 2021, the CACI Analyst For more than two decades, India has openly opposed any prospect of the Taliban returning to power in Afghanistan. New Delhi has continued to oppose the...
View ArticleAfghan Hazaras Organize to Defend Themselves
By Sudha Ramachandran August 26, 2021, the CACI Analyst Relentless violence against Afghanistan’s Shia Hazara community by the Sunni extremist Taliban and the Islamic State-Khorasan in recent years had...
View ArticleCan Pakistan Offer the U.S. Military Bases to Target Islamic State in...
By Umair Jamal September 20, 2021, the CACI Analyst After the withdrawal of international troops from Afghanistan, U.S. intelligence agencies are seeking ways to maintain its intelligence-gathering and...
View ArticleAfter Afghanistan: What is the future of U.S. policy in Central Asia?
By Stephen Blank October 6, 2021, the CACI Analyst The U.S. withdrawal and the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan should force American policymakers to rethink America’s position and goals in Central...
View ArticleRussia's War in Ukraine: Implications for Central Asia
By Johan Engvall March 14, 2022 Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the West’s economic response to it has put Central Asia in a precarious position. As part of what Moscow perceives as its sphere of...
View ArticleKyrgyzstan and the Changing Geopolitics of Central Asia and the Caucasus
By Shairbek Dzhuraev August 30, 2022 Ever since 1991, Kyrgyzstan's international relations have focused on balancing its relation with Russia with developing new international partnerships. In the...
View ArticleISKP Attacks in Uzbekistan and Tajikistan
By Sudha Ramachandran August 31, 2022 Since April this year, the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP), the Afghan affiliate of the terrorist organization known as the Islamic State of Iraq and...
View ArticleTajikistan Faces Threat from Tajik Taliban
By Sudha Ramachandran March 27, 2023 In July 2022, reports emerged of a “new” militant outfit in northern Afghanistan. A Taliban-affiliated group, the Tehrik-e-Taliban Tajikistan is...
View ArticlePakistan’s Eviction of Afghan Migrants Risks Backfiring
By Sudha Ramachandran December 5, 2023 Pakistan has issued an ultimatum to illegal migrants to leave the country or face detention and deportation. It says that national security concerns underlie its...
View ArticleAfghanistan Is Still There
S. Frederick Starr July 12, 2024 Since the U.S.'s abrupt departure from Afghanistan, the Taliban government has opened exten- sive contacts with China, Russia, Pakistan, Turkey, and the Gulf States and...
View ArticleThe Wakhan Corridor: China's Inroad to Afghanistan
By Aigerim Turgunbaeva and Fayazuddin Ghiasi On January 2, 2024, Mullah Baradar, Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs in the Taliban administration, announced that construction of the Wakhan...
View ArticleThe First Phase of the TAPI Gas Pipeline: From Serhetabat, Turkmenistan to...
By Vali Kaleji The construction of the first phase of the Turkmenistan–Afghanistan–Pakistan–India Gas Pipeline (TAPI) gas pipeline constitutes a key component of the Taliban's broader strategy to...
View ArticleTransport Projects in Afghanistan: Iran's Ambitions and a Balancing Central Asia
By Nargiza Umarova In recent years, the Taliban government has successfully garnered the support of most Central Asian countries for the development of trans-Afghan transport infrastructure. Notably,...
View ArticleWhat the Extension of Transport Corridors in Afghanistan Means for Central Asia
Nargiza Umarova March 12, 2025 In the current geopolitical realities, Central Asia seeks to restore its historical role as a land-based transportation and logistics hub, facilitating connections...
View ArticleChina Remains Silent as Afghanistan-Pakistan Tensions Spiral
By Syed Fazl-e-Haider At the conclusion of a five-day visit to China by Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari on February 8, China and Pakistan issued a joint statement urging the Taliban government to...
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