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Envisioning Opportunities for U.S.-Russia Cooperation in and with Central Asia

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The Working Group on the Future of U.S.-Russia Relations
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Central Asia is conventionally seen as a conflicting space for great powers.

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It was analyzed through this prism as early as the Russian-British “Great Game” at the end of the nineteenth century. This perception was revived following the collapse of the Soviet Union, which brought the Central Asian republics onto the international scene as newly independent states. The critical lens of analysis continues to be that the region is a place for global and regional powers alike to demonstrate their “muscle.” Yet this perception has to be questioned, for two reasons. First, each global and regional power occupies specific niches on the ground, with the result that direct competition is not so confrontational. Second, Central Asian states, far from being passive actors, are themselves setting the rules of the game in many respects and have succeeded at playing one actor off against another.

Since the U.S. drawdown from Afghanistan in 2014, several commentators have called for a more ambitious and/or realistic U.S. foreign policy toward Central Asia, but they have not addressed the critical issue of how U.S. policy on the region interacts, overlaps, or competes with that of Russia. Yet seen from Central Asia, the United States has never had enough weight in the region to be chosen against Russia.

Read the report : Envisioning Opportunities for U.S.-Russia Cooperation in and with Central Asia

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Marlène LARUELLE

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Ancienne chercheuse associée, Centre Russie/Eurasie de l'Ifri

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Russia/Eurasia Center
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Founded in 2005 within Ifri, the Russia/Eurasia Center conducts research and organizes debates on Russia, Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and the South Caucasus. Its goal is to understand and anticipate the evolution of this complex and rapidly changing geographical area in order to enrich public discourse in France and Europe and to assist in strategic, political, and economic decision-making.

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Date de publication
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Date de publication
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Date de publication
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Accroche

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Date de publication
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Accroche

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The Working Group on the Future of U.S.-Russia Relations
Envisioning Opportunities for U.S.-Russia Cooperation in and with Central Asia, from Ifri by
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