Abstract
This book addresses how to mitigate regional tensions and enhance opportunities for cooperation through well-designed regional institutions and organizations among countries in geographical proximity. We use the case of Central Asia (i.e., Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan), to explore the following question: How and by what forces has Central Asian regionalism evolved? Contrary to the prevalent epistemic discourse on the skeptical explanations of regional cooperation in Central Asia, regionalism as a political program that mobilizes and materializes collective region-wide agendas has continuously evolved. Conceptualizing key terms, this chapter provides an analytical tool to explain Central Asian regionalism structured around the four intertwined elements: positionality in the wider international community, motivation for regionalization, functionality as a region, and the collective vision.
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Appendices
Annex 1: List of Questions for the Semi-Structured Interviews
Note: Not all of the questions below were used in all interviews; we selected relevant questions from the list below depending on the interviewees’ nationality and expertise. Most of the formal interviews continued with additional questions and informal discussion. Interviews were conducted in either Russian or English. We anonymized not only the names of the interviewees but also their affiliations and professions as some of the contents might be interpreted as politically sensitive to some parties. In the text, we only indicate interviewees’ broad professional group along with the interview date and method.
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1.
Do you think Central Asian countries have some level of shared interests? Could you provide examples?
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2.
Do you feel any kind of solidarity among Central Asian citizens? Please explain under what circumstances this is the case.
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3.
In your opinion, how developed are the relations between the countries within the Central Asian region? Does the region need external players such as the US, the EU, China, and Russia?
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4.
Do you think there would be some benefits (or more disadvantages than benefits) if Central Asian countries cooperate more towards integration? State your view in terms of security, economic ties, and social cooperation.
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5.
Could you provide any examples (events, programs, projects, policy, civil activities) that have contributed to nurturing Central Asian regionalism?
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6.
As an expert with extensive experience in the field, how would you assess the degree of presence of Western powers in the Central Asian region? In which areas of activity do you think this presence has been traceable since the early 2000s?
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7.
How would you assess the degree of China’s presence in the Central Asian region? Do you think this presence has increased over the past 20 years? If so, in what areas and do you find that the presence of the China in the region is a positive trend?
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8.
How would you assess the degree of Russia’s presence in the Central Asian region? How, in your opinion, has its presence in the region been changing since 2000? In your view, does the region need Russia?
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9.
If you are skeptical about tighter cooperation among Central Asian countries, which region should your country of origin cooperate more or integrate with (e.g., India, Russia, Mongolia, Turkiye, etc.)? Explain why.
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10.
Do you have any policy suggestions for the future direction of Central Asia’s region-wide cooperation?
Annex 2: Data on Interviews and Survey Cited in the Text
№ | Country of origin | Profession | Other identification | Interview date | Method |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | China (Lived in Almaty for two years) | Professor | University professor and researcher in the field of Public Policy and International Relations | Received response on April 6, 2021 | |
2 | Italy (Living in Almaty) | Professor | Director and professor of Political Science and History focusing on Russia and Central Asia | December 12, 2021 | face-to-face |
3 | US (Lived in Almaty for seven years) | Commentator/Associate Faculty | Retired professor in International Relations and Regional Studies | Received response on March 16, 2021 | |
4 | Russia | Senior research fellow | University Research Institute focusing on Spatial Analysis in International Relations | Received response on February 9, 2021 | |
5 | Uzbekistan | Writer | Founder of Eurasian civil association and network/Commentator/Journalist | Received response on March 3, 2021 | |
6 | Uzbekistan (Living in UAE) | Assistant Professor | College of Humanities and Social Sciences | November 5, 2021 | face-to-face |
7 | Tajikistan (Living in Sweden) | Researcher/PhD candidate | Director of an international research institute on Central Asian Studies | Received response on March 30, 2021 | |
8 | Turkmenistan | Associate fellow | Research institute focusing on security and development of Central Asia | Received response on May 20, 2021 | |
9 | Kyrgyzstan | Policy field practitioner | Director of a policy research center focusing on Asia | Received response on January 20, 2021 | |
10 | Kazakhstan | Government official | Member of the public council | December 27, 2020 | face-to-face |
11 | Kazakhstan | Researcher | Expert in the field of international business and education | July 25, 2020 | |
12 | Kazakhstan | Financial sector employee/Postgraduate student | Full-time employee in the financial sector in Almaty/Part-time postgraduate student of Public Policy | May 9 2022 | face-to-face |
13 | Turkmenistan | Administrator/Postgraduate student | Full-time employee in the public sector/Part-time post-graduate student of International Relations | May 10, 2022 | face-to-face |
14 | Mongolia (Living in Almaty) | Postgraduate student | Full-time postgraduate student of IR and Regional Studies | May 10, 2022 | face-to-face |
15 | China (living in Almaty) | Translator/Postgraduate student | Postgraduate student of IR and Regional Studies | May 18, 2022 | face-to-face |
16 | Tajikistan | Civil society worker | Researcher and administrator in a regional environmental organization in Central Asia | May 20, 2022 | face-to-face |
List of SurveyMonkey Questions:
A total of 293 respondents completed the survey below via SurveyMonkey, and 16 experts were selected for in-depth interviews.
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Q.1 Your gender.
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Q.2 Your age.
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Q.3 Your occupation.
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Q.4 Do you think that the presence of Western powers in the Central Asian region has diminished since the early 2000s?
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Q.5 Do you think that the change of the West’s presence in Central Asia negatively affects the development of the region?
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Q.6 Do you think that China’s presence in the Central Asian region has increased since the early 2000s?
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Q.7 Do you think that the presence of China in Central Asia has had a positive effect on the development of the region?
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Q.8 Do you think that Russia’s presence in the Central Asian region has diminished since the early 2000s?
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Q.9 Do you think that the change of Russia’s presence in Central Asia has had a negative impact on the development of the region?
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Q.10 Do you think the relations between the countries within the Central Asian region are sufficiently developed?
Annex 3: Central Asian Research Survey
Questions | Male (%) | Female (%) | 25–40 (%) | 41–63 (%) | 64 years and over (%) | Business and entrepreneurship (%) | Education, science and culture (%) | Public service (%) | Yes (%) | No (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Q.1 | Your gender | 37.46 | 62.54 | ||||||||
Q.2 | Your age | 43.60 | 50.17 | 6.23 | |||||||
Q.3 | Your occupation | 17.48 | 64.69 | 17.83 | |||||||
Q.4 | Do you think the presence of Western powers in the Central Asian region has diminished since early 2000s? | 51.89 | 48.11 | ||||||||
Q.5 | Do you think the change of West’s presence in Central Asia negatively affects the development of the region? | 55.59 | 44.41 | ||||||||
Q.6 | Do you think China’s presence in the Central Asian region has increased since the early 2000s? | 95.19 | 4.81 | ||||||||
Q.7 | Do you think the presence of China in Central Asia has a positive effect on the development of the region? | 30.00 | 70.00 | ||||||||
Q.8 | Do you think Russia’s presence in the Central Asian region has diminished since the early 2000s? | 31.85 | 68.15 | ||||||||
Q.9 | Do you think the change of Russia’s presence in Central Asia has a negative impact on the development of the region? | 45.70 | 54.30 | ||||||||
Q.10 | Do you think the relations between the countries within the Central Asian region are sufficiently developed? | 17.18 | 82.82 |
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BOURDAIS PARK, J., ADIBAYEVA, A., SAARI, D. (2023). Introduction: Regionalism for Central Asian Studies. In: Politics of Regionalism in Central Asia. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-4079-0_1
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