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Preface
Dear readers,
The Institute of Strategic Studies of the Caucasus and the Institute for Central Asian and Caucasian Studies, which publish the journal of social and political studies Central Asia and the Caucasus, are offering an Analytical Annual called Central Eurasia 2005 as their next project. The articles in the Annual focus on a general overview and analysis of the political, international, religious, and economic affairs of the Central Eurasian countries in 2005. This publication is unique with its comprehensive overview of the most important events and processes going on in the aforementioned areas of each country’s life, the dynamics and development trends in this region from the viewpoint of globalization and new regionalism.
Our primary aim in undertaking this project is to present an objective panorama of public life, regional cooperation, and integration of the Central Eurasian countries as an important prerequisite of their sustainable and dynamic development. A comprehensive view of the social processes going on in this region will be conducive to finding the right responses to the diverse challenges of globalization. We hope in this way to make our best contribution to forming a contemporary model for developing a new regional entity—Central Eurasia—and thus help the international community to create a coordinated platform for rendering real support to sociopolitical development and integration in the region. A qualitatively better result can be achieved by attaining these goals jointly than by simply putting together a bunch of appealing and significant facts.
We are living in very difficult and interesting times. The sociopolitical, economic, and international relations of the Central Eurasian countries are transforming before our very eyes. New regional relations are developing among these countries on an equal and mutually advantageous basis, which could ultimately lead to the formation of another sustainably developing region on the planet. At present, the countries of the region are at a stage where it is becoming increasingly important for each of them to popularize the priority areas of development they have chosen and the measures they are taking in political, international, religious, and economic affairs. This need is essentially what prompted the authors of the Annual to launch this project. They tried to select from an enormous amount of information precisely those items which will help readers to orient themselves in the convoluted ups and downs of the social life in all the region’s countries as they interact and have an influence on each other, and to find in the event-filled chronology of each country those facts and incidents deserving of attention.
The initiators of the Annual hope that this publication will encourage a dialog between the countries of the region and will offer political scientists and the public enough convincing arguments in favor of regional cooperation and integration, which could, we are sure, become catalysts for ensuring sustainable and long-term economic growth, lowering the level of poverty, and maintaining social stability.
This Annual, which we intend to make a tradition, seems to us to be the most attractive way to form a new perception of the place and role of Central Eurasia in the planetary scheme of things. This confidence is based on the fact that Central Asia and the Caucasus and its special issues, as well as the Annual being published in tandem are widely disseminated and available to a broad readership. The entire project is aimed at readers who are looking for ways to encourage the sustainable, dynamic development of the Central Eurasian countries and their integration into the globalizing world.
We hope the Annual will be a success, and we welcome all reviews and suggestions for improving the publication, as well as for developing similar projects.
Eldar Ismailov, Chairman of the Scientific Editorial Board
Please fill in the subscription form to obtain the full text.
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