Articles

October 24, 2020

Understanding Economic Growth in Central Asia: the Role of Trade

International trade has been and remains one of the most important factors impacting on the basic growth indicators. Many studies show that relations between trade and economic growth are positive and strong. Frankel and Romer (1999) indicate that both within-country and international trade raise income by accumulation of physical and […]
October 24, 2020

Pompeo’s Eurasian Tour: Expectations and Reality

From January 30 to February 3, 2020, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visited four post-Soviet countries – Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan. The trip was planned back in early January but was postponed due to worsening relations between the United States and Iran. The confrontation escalated when, by order […]
October 24, 2020

European Union’s New Climate Diplomacy in Central Asia

Climate change became one of the biggest challenges to our planet and every creature living on it. Therefore, it is acknowledged as one of the key global challenges of the 21st century. Numerous reports and official statements of states and international organizations emphasize the potential threat from climate change that […]
October 24, 2020

Scientific Work: Quality or Quantity?

How to measure a scientist’s labor productivity? It depends on the measurement and evaluation system. Judging by the number of articles published by scientists, some figures are amazing. For example, the most prolific scientist in the world from 2016 to 2018 is Tasawar Hayat, a professor of mathematics at the […]
October 24, 2020

Population and Economic Growth: Lessons for Kazakhstan

Links between population and economic growth and development have been and remain one of the most discussed issues in economic theory as changes in population affect basic growth indicators. Usually, this debate starts with T. Malthus’ famous prediction that population growth can lead to famine. Simple exogenous models of economic […]
October 24, 2020

Parliamentary Elections in Uzbekistan through the Eyes of the Observer

On December 22, 2019, the parliamentary elections were held in Uzbekistan for the the first time after President Shavkat Mirziyoyev succeeded the country’s long-serving leader Islam Karimov who passed away in September 2016. The author of this article participated in the elections as an observer, and this analysis is based […]
October 24, 2020

Alternative Route Via Central Asia: Uzbekistan’s Vision

On December 19-20, 2019, a meeting of the heads of the national railways of Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan was held in Tashkent. The agenda of the negotiations was the development of an international multimodal route. The meeting was productive, as the parties agreed to launch a pilot train […]
October 24, 2020

Positive Neutrality Based on Gas Exports: Overview of Turkmenistan’s Foreign Policy

Turkmenistan, under its first president Saparmurat Niyazov, proclaimed its permanent neutrality status on December 12, 1995, when the UN General Assembly adopted a special resolution on the issue, which was backed by a relevant constitutional law. Since then, the doctrine of ‘positive neutrality’ has become the basis of the country’s […]
July 12, 2020

UN Population Prospects: Case of Central Asia

  According to the UN World Population Prospects report published on June 17, 2019, the world’s population is expected to increase by 2 billion people within the next 30 years, from current 7.7 billion to 9.7 billion in 2050. By the end of the 21st century, the world population is likely […]
July 11, 2020

Main Trends in Kazakhstan’s Foreign Policy in 2018

The end of a calendar year is always a time when results and achievements of an outgoing year are summarized and assessed. This article attempts to highlight important events for Kazakh diplomacy in 2018 and strives to understand what the country’s foreign policy has lost or gained. The first notable […]