Carnegie Moscow Center
President Obama has placed a greater emphasis on the need for a regional approach to Afghanistan. Leading experts analyze what a regional strategy would mean in practice through the eyes of key states, including Russia, Iran, Pakistan, and India, and what it could mean for U.S. policy.
Lasting change eluded Kyrgyzstan in 2005 when Bakiyev came to power. Now that his regime has collapsed, the new leaders will have to work hard to earn back the trust of the Kyrgyz people.
Despite its importance, Russia’s perspective on the war in Afghanistan has typically been missing from previous analyses of coalition policy. Moscow views Afghanistan largely through the prism of security threats to itself and its Central Asian neighborhood.
The role of Uzbekistan’s parliament has expanded significantly, but the transition from totalitarian regime to secular democracy will require further steps toward the decentralization of power.
Roza Otunbayeva, chairman of the interim government of the Kyrgyz Republic, discussed the recent upheaval in Kyrgyzstan and prospects for the country's political future and relations with the United States, Russia, China, and Europe.
The Middle East has long been a regional battlefield of competing interests among the great powers. In the current international environment, however, the United States, Russia, and, to a lesser extent, China share multiple mutual interests in the region.
The U.N. special envoy to Kyrgyzstan is working alongside the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) to bring a peaceful resolution to the crisis there. The United States should resist the temptation to engage in a backroom deal to decide Kyrgyzstan’s fate.
The recent resignation of President Bakiyev, in the wake of a popular uprising that removed him from power, has given Kyrgyzstan a chance to avoid becoming a failed state.
Public hostility toward the Kyrgyz government escalated over the past weeks, leading to the recent street protests and demonstrations that seem to have topped the government of President Bakiyev.
The Kyrgyz opposition forces have won control of the country, but if they cannot maintain their unity when the time comes to divide up governmental positions, their success may be short-lived.