Engaging Central Asia. The European Union’s new strategy in the heart of Eurasia
Engaging Central Asia. The European Union’s new strategy in the heart of Eurasia
Contributor(s): Neil Melvin (Editor)
Subject(s): Politics / Political Sciences, Politics, Law, Constitution, Jurisprudence, Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, Government/Political systems, International relations/trade, Security and defense
Published by: CEPS Centre for European Policy Studies
Keywords: Central Asia; European Union; Eurasia; Security challenges; human rights; democratic reforms; Political engagement; Heart of Eurasia;
Summary/Abstract: During the Soviet era, the lands of contemporary Central Asia were largely terra incognito for the outside world. Located deep within the Soviet Union, the region was isolated for much of the 20th century. During this period, Soviet Central Asia (the Uzbek, Tajik, Turkmen and Kyrgyz republics) and Kazakhstan (which was seen as administratively separate from the other four republics) were to an extraordinary degree controlled by Moscow and the institutions of Communist power. The sudden and dramatic collapse of the USSR under Mikhail Gorbachev at the end of 1991 thus marked an historic moment for Central Asia for it exposed the region almost overnight to the international community.In July 2007, the European Union initiated a fundamentally new approach to the countries of Central Asia. The launch of the EU Strategy for Central Asia signals a qualitative shift in the Union’s relations with a region of the world that is of growing importance as a supplier of energy, is geographically situated in a politically sensitive area – between China, Russia, Iran, Afghanistan and the south Caucasus – and contains some of the most authoritarian political regimes in the world. In this volume, leading specialists from Europe, the United States and Central Asia explore the key challenges facing the European Union as it seeks to balance its policies between enhancing the Union’s energy, business and security interests in the region while strengthening social justice, democratisation efforts and the protection of human rights. With chapters devoted to the Union’s bilateral relations with Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan and to the vital issues of security and democratisation, ‘Engaging Central Asia’ provides the first comprehensive analysis of the EU’s strategic initiative in a part of the world that is fast emerging as one of the key regions of the 21st century.
Series: CEPS Paperback Series
- Print-ISBN-13: 978-92-9079-707-4
- Page Count: 196
- Publication Year: 2008
- Language: English
Security challenges in Central Asia: implications for the EU’s engagement strategy
Security challenges in Central Asia: implications for the EU’s engagement strategy
(Security challenges in Central Asia: implications for the EU’s engagement strategy)
- Author(s):Daniel Kimmage
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Government/Political systems, Security and defense, Military policy, Studies in violence and power
- Page Range:9-19
- No. of Pages:11
- Keywords:Security challenges; Central Asia; EU;
- Summary/Abstract:Central Asia presents the European Union with a uniquely problematic set of security challenges. Enumerated in their most basic form, without reference to context, the challenges are formidable enough: the threat of violent extremism, a well established conduit for smuggling illegal narcotics and potential instability rife with the possibility of conflict and humanitarian catastrophe. But these challenges are not stand-alone issues that can be treated individually; they are embedded in a regional context that creates additional difficulties for engagement.
Democratisation and human rights in Central Asia: Problems, development prospects and the role of the international community
Democratisation and human rights in Central Asia: Problems, development prospects and the role of the international community
(Democratisation and human rights in Central Asia: Problems, development prospects and the role of the international community)
- Author(s):Eugheniy Zhovtis
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, Civil Society, Government/Political systems, Studies in violence and power, History of Communism
- Page Range:20-42
- No. of Pages:23
- Keywords:Democratisation; Human rights; Central Asia; Communist Party of the Soviet Union;
- Summary/Abstract:To understand the reasons for the relative failures of the transition to democracy, the formation of a law-based state and the establishment of respect for human rights in the independent states of Central Asia today, as well as the role of the international community, one has to assess, first of all, the dynamics of the political process in this region of the world. In large part, the origins of the current weakness of democratic processes are theresult of developments during the final decades of Soviet power.
The EU and Kazakhstan: Is the pursuit of energy and security cooperation compatible with promotion of human rights and democratic reforms?
The EU and Kazakhstan: Is the pursuit of energy and security cooperation compatible with promotion of human rights and democratic reforms?
(The EU and Kazakhstan: Is the pursuit of energy and security cooperation compatible with promotion of human rights and democratic reforms?)
- Author(s):Bhavna Dave
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Energy and Environmental Studies, Human Rights and Humanitarian Law, Environmental and Energy policy, Government/Political systems, Security and defense, Comparative politics, EU-Accession / EU-DEvelopment
- Page Range:43-67
- No. of Pages:25
- Keywords:EU; Kazakhstan; Energy and security cooperation; Human rights; Democratic reforms;
- Summary/Abstract:Kazakhstan’s continuing socio-economic and political stability, a formal commitment to political reforms and an avowed pro-Western orientation make it the European Union’s most reliable partner in the Central Asian region. Kazakhstan’s expanding economic and security partnership with Europe is part of its ‘multi-vectoral’ foreign policy geared at balancing its ties with Russia, China, the Western states and the Muslim world. Kazakhstan has skilfully utilised its geostrategic location as a corridor between Asia and Europe and the country’s rising profile as the leading oil exporter to Europe after Russia (almost 80% of EU imports from Kazakhstan consist of fuel) to carve out a special niche for itself within the European market.
The EU and Uzbekistan: Where to go from here?
The EU and Uzbekistan: Where to go from here?
(The EU and Uzbekistan: Where to go from here?)
- Author(s):Michael Hall
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Environmental and Energy policy, Government/Political systems, Security and defense, Comparative politics
- Page Range:68-80
- No. of Pages:13
- Keywords:EU; Uzbekistan; Security; Energy; Government;
- Summary/Abstract:In 2005, following the suppression of the Andijon uprising, the European Union, alone among world powers, took a necessary and principled stance towards the regime of Uzbekistan’s President Islom Karimov. A visa ban was imposed on officials believed to be involved in the indiscriminate killing of mostly unarmed civilians, an embargo was placed on arms shipments to Uzbekistan and high-level bilateral relations were frozen. Now, almost two years later, the strain in relations appears to be taking its toll on both sides. The Uzbek government has made tentative overtures to the EU, and there are indications that some in the EU are willing to accept such overtures at face value in the rush to normalise relations, often citing security and energy concerns, as well as ‘progress’ in the sphere of human rights.
Turkmenistan and the EU: Contexts and possibilities for greater engagement
Turkmenistan and the EU: Contexts and possibilities for greater engagement
(Turkmenistan and the EU: Contexts and possibilities for greater engagement)
- Author(s):Michael Denison
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Environmental and Energy policy, Government/Political systems, International relations/trade, Comparative politics
- Page Range:81-104
- No. of Pages:24
- Keywords:Turkmenistan; EU; domestic political landscape;
- Summary/Abstract:The sudden death of Turkmenistan’s President Saparmurat Niyazov on 21 December 2006, has opened a window for engagement between the European Union and Turkmenistan. There appears to be a realisation across the Turkmen political elite that Niyazov’s style of policy micro management was unsustainable and undesirable, both in terms of its immediate outcomes and for its broader impact on political and social cohesion. Accordingly, a more balanced and predictable form of governance under President Gurbanguly Berdymuhammedov has emerged, albeit with an increasingly accented personalistic tone.
Tajikistan and the EU: From post-conflict reconstruction to critical engagement
Tajikistan and the EU: From post-conflict reconstruction to critical engagement
(Tajikistan and the EU: From post-conflict reconstruction to critical engagement)
- Author(s):Matteo Fumagalli
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Environmental and Energy policy, Government/Political systems, Security and defense, Comparative politics, Post-Communist Transformation, EU-Accession / EU-DEvelopment
- Page Range:105-121
- No. of Pages:17
- Keywords:Tajikistan; EU; Post-conflict reconstruction;
- Summary/Abstract:For the European Union, the development of closer ties with Tajikistan within the context of the recently launched Strategy for Central Asia represents a significant opportunity. Tajikistan occupies a geographically peripheral position, but it is precisely this location outside the limelight – and therefore less subject to the pressures of geopolitics and the strugglefor energy resources that shapes much of the politics of the rest of the region – that could allow the EU to foster new forms of cooperation with the local authorities. Policies should be devised that aim at strengthening the Tajik state’s capacities and stability, there by significantly assisting reform and development in the country.
A view from the region
A view from the region
(A view from the region)
- Author(s):Nargis Kassenova
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Environmental and Energy policy, Government/Political systems, International relations/trade, Security and defense
- Page Range:122-136
- No. of Pages:15
- Keywords:EU; Central Asia; Common Foreign and Security Policy;
- Summary/Abstract:The German Presidency of the EU in the first half of 2007 inspired great hopes regarding the development of relations between the European Union and the states of Central Asia. In Brussels and other European capitals, it was expected that Germany, as an EU political and economic heavyweight and one of the key promoters of the Common Foreign and Security Policy, would be able to foster a coordinated Central Asian policy giving direction and coherence to European engagement in the region.
The European Union’s strategic role in Central Asia
The European Union’s strategic role in Central Asia
(The European Union’s strategic role in Central Asia)
- Author(s):Neil Melvin
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Government/Political systems, International relations/trade, Security and defense, EU-Accession / EU-DEvelopment
- Page Range:137-151
- No. of Pages:15
- Keywords:European Union; Strategic role in Central Asia; External policies; European values;
- Summary/Abstract:For the first time since the collapse of communism, the EU is facing a strategic challenge in its external policies. The rise of Russia and China as international actors – with India close behind – and the growing confidence of some leading regional powers, such as Iran, are creating a serious threat to the EU’s ambition to apply external policies that reflect European values.
Annex 1 - Mandate of the EU special representative for Central Asia
Annex 1 - Mandate of the EU special representative for Central Asia
(Annex 1 - Mandate of the EU special representative for Central Asia)
- Author(s):Jack Straw
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Government/Political systems, International relations/trade, Security and defense, EU-Accession / EU-DEvelopment
- Page Range:152-155
- No. of Pages:4
- Keywords:EU; Central Asia;
- Summary/Abstract:THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, Having regard to the Treaty on European Union, and in particular Articles 14,18(5) and 23(2) there of, Where as: (1) The European Union wishes to play a more active political role in Central Asia. (2) There is a need to ensure coordination and consistency of external actions of the Union in Central Asia. (3) On 13 June 2005 the Council agreed to appoint an European Union Special Representative (EUSR) for Central Asia (Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan).
Annex 2 - Extension of the mandate of the EU special representative for Central Asia
Annex 2 - Extension of the mandate of the EU special representative for Central Asia
(Annex 2 - Extension of the mandate of the EU special representative for Central Asia)
- Author(s):Andrej Bajuk
- Language:English
- Subject(s):International relations/trade, EU-Accession / EU-DEvelopment
- Page Range:156-161
- No. of Pages:6
- Keywords:EU; Central Asia;
- Summary/Abstract:THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, Having regard to the Treaty on European Union, and in particular Articles 14,18(5) and 23(2) there of, Where as:(1) On 15 February 2007, the Council adopted Joint Action 2007/113/CFSP(1) (1) amending and extending the mandate of the European Union Special Representative (EUSR) for Central Asia. (2) On the basis of a review of Joint Action 2007/113/CFSP, the mandate of the EUSR should be extended for a 12-month period.
Annex 3 - The European Union and Central Asia: Strategy for a New Partnership
Annex 3 - The European Union and Central Asia: Strategy for a New Partnership
(Annex 3 - The European Union and Central Asia: Strategy for a New Partnership)
- Author(s):Author Not Specified
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Government/Political systems, International relations/trade, Security and defense, EU-Accession / EU-DEvelopment
- Page Range:162-190
- No. of Pages:29
- Keywords:EU; Central Asia; Strategies for a New Partnership;
