REGIONAL SECURITY IN CENTRAL ASIA: ADDRESSING EXISTING AND POTENTIAL THREATS AND CHALLENGES

Year 2019, Volume: 1 Issue: 1, 51 - 65, 15.01.2019

Dauren Aben

Abstract

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan confronted a number of serious internal and external security threats and challenges of political, military, economic, ethnic, religious and social nature, some of which have materialized or expired during the subsequent 27 years, while others still persist or are looming on the horizon. In this analytical article, the author reviews the main perceived regional security threats and challenges in Central Asia that can be categorized in several ways, but whatever classification is used it is important to understand that they are interrelated and influence each other. As many existing security threats have a transnational nature, the Central Asian states need to pool together their limited resources to effectively address them. 

Keywords

Central Asia, Regional Security, Transnational Crime, Afghanistan, Russia, China, Terrorism

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