GAS AND THE FOREIGN POLICY OF CENTRAL ASIAN STATES
Abstract
The purpose of this article is to study the interconnection between energy resources, gas in particular, and the foreign policy of Central Asian post-Soviet states. It is suggested that gas as an internal economic factor has an impact on the foreign policy formation of Central Asian states. The comparison of five countries—Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan—leads to the conclusion that rich gas reserves together with profitable export opportunities have enabled Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan to pursue “flexible” foreign policy, which in this article means the possibility to stay away from military alliances and economic/political international organizations created by Great Powers. Since independence, Turkmenistan has adhered to the “positive neutrality” strategy and pursued the “open door” policy, while Uzbekistan has affirmed its commitment to a self-reliant foreign policy.
These strategies exclude a close alignment to Great Powers and participation in the economic and military organizations created by them. In contrast to Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, which do not possess gas, have directed their foreign policies towards integration into the regional/international organizations led by a Great Power—Russia—and, therefore, remained heavily dependent on it. The leaders of these two countries believe that pro-Russian policy is the only way to survive. Therefore, both Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan became parts of almost all of the Russian-led economic and military initiatives.
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