| Publication |
2011.
|
| Summary/Abstract |
CENTRAL ASIA has a rich history. At one time, it boasted the Great Silk Road, a major trade route between Europe and China. It was also an arena where Chinese, Mongolian, Persian, Turkish, and Arabian military commanders led their armies in brutal battles, prosperous towns were built and destroyed, and huge empires appeared and disappeared. So researchers have examined this region in the most diverse geographical configurations.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Central Asia became an independent geopolitical entity comprised of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. This concept became firmly ensconced in Russia (although during Soviet times, the region was defined as the Central Asian republics and Kazakhstan) and is adhered to by most experts in the West and the East. The OSCE also understands Central Asia as precisely these five former Soviet republics. There are also such projects as the "EU and Central Asia: Strategy for a New Partnership" and the "Central Asia plus Japan" which are aimed at developing relations with the region's states.
|