International Alert: Central Asia

Our engagement in Central Asia began with a regional strategic peacebuilding assessment of the region, which was published in early 2006.

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Conflict analysis
Publications

Currently, we are promoting the capacity of Tajik society to use their peacebuilding experience to address new threats and challenges.

Central Asia: A Strategic Framework for Peacebuilding

All too often international peacebuilding efforts lack coherence and coordination, and at the moment, this is the case in Central Asia. Our assessment, published in 2006 in Russian and in English aims to link local factors with a broader, more regional scenario, including not only the five republics but also Afghanistan, Russia, China's Xinjiang Province, Iran and the US.

From Peacemaking to Peacebuilding in Tajikistan

Alert is working with the Tajik government, civil society experts and participants form both sides of the Tajik dialogue process supporting the 1997 peace agreement that ended the Tajik civil war to promote a model for more inclusive policy making on new threats and challenges facing the country that if left unaddressed, could result in new conflict. By harnessing the country’s existing peacebuilding potential at different levels, Alert fosters dialogue between state and society and promotes a model participatory policy development process, thus building capacity of the Tajik state to respond to challenges facing the country.

CONTEXT

The five Central Asian states that became independent with the break-up of the Soviet Union – Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan – escaped the widespread conflict that took place in the Caucasus, but share many of the risk factors behind modern conflict: ethnic and religious tension, scarce natural resources (particularly water and arable land), uneven development, overlapping ethnic and state borders, fragile governments and proximity to a very instable and conflict-prone country, Afghanistan.

Like other parts of the former USSR, Central Asia has been undergoing a considerable political, social and economic transition. With the exception of civil war in Tajikistan and isolated but significant ethnic violence in the early 1990s, this transition has taken place relatively peacefully. But stability has often been achieved by harsh political control rather than through economic, development, participatory governance and effective state institutions. The root causes of conflict therefore remain unaddressed –and so sudden political or economic changes could easily trigger unrest.

For more information, Dessislava Roussanova

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Caucasus and Central Asia overview

PROGRAMMES
Caucasus
Central Asia

LINKS

For more about conflict analysis, order a copy of our Conflict Sensitivity Resource Pack

For information on small arms proliferation in Central Asia, download our 2004 report, Small Arms Controls in Central Asia

MAILING LIST

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CONFLICT ANALYSIS

The assessment begins with a conflict analysis – a systematic study that:

Defines the profile of (potential) conflicts (political, economic and socio-cultural context and issues, conflict prone/affected areas, history of the conflict);
Outlines the causes of conflict (structural and background causes, objectives and behaviour of those involved, potential triggers for conflict escalation and factors that influence how it is fought);
Identifies the key actors (and their motivations, goals, positions, capacities, relationships);
Recognises the dynamics between profile, causes and actors, thus allowing an assessment of possible developments and planning responses.

The resulting report, Central Asia: A Strategic Framework for Peacebuilding, provides clear recommendations and practical advice to local governments and decision-makers, international donors and multilateral agencies, local and international NGOs, civil society representatives and community leaders on how to develop policy and programme strategies that address conflict-related risks and develop long-term and effective peacebuilding initiatives.

You can download or order the report in English or in Russian.

For more information, Dessislava Roussanova

MORE
Caucasus and Central Asia overview

PROGRAMMES
Caucasus
Central Asia

LINKS

For more about conflict analysis, order a copy of our Conflict Sensitivity Resource Pack

For information on small arms proliferation in Central Asia, download our 2004 report, Small Arms Controls in Central Asia

MAILING LIST

Click here to join our mailing list and receive our monthly e-bulletin

PUBLICATIONS ON CENTRAL ASIA

Central Asia: A Strategic Framework for Peacebuilding - Russian Language Version

Author(s): Anna Matveeva
2006-09

Although Central Asia has remained relatively peaceful in the years since the break-up of the Soviet Union, there is still a considerable potential for conflict in the region. The Strategic Framework for Peacebuilding provides an in-depth analysis of conflict potential in Central Asia, from which it derives a peacebuilding strategy. The report focuses its attention on three states: Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. The regional context (Afghanistan) and the influence and interest of major powers (USA, Russia, China) in the region are also taken into account, as are common regional factors like strict border regimes cutting through communities, the complex ethnic situation in the Ferghana valley, the drug trade and the threat of Islamism. The headline conclusion is that the central threat to stability lies not, as has long been thought, in ethnic rivalries or competition over resources, but rather in the relationship between the citizens and the state.
Download pdf | More Information

Central Asia: A Strategic Framework for Peacebuilding

Author(s): Anna Matveeva
2006-02

Although Central Asia has remained relatively peaceful in the years since the break-up of the Soviet Union, there is still a considerable potential for conflict in the region. The Strategic Framework for Peacebuilding provides an in-depth analysis of conflict potential in Central Asia, from which it derives a peacebuilding strategy. The report focuses its attention on three states: Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. The regional context (Afghanistan) and the influence and interest of major powers (USA, Russia, China) in the region are also taken into account, as are common regional factors like strict border regimes cutting through communities, the complex ethnic situation in the Ferghana valley, the drug trade and the threat of islamism. The headline conclusion is that the central threat to stability lies not, as has long been thought, in ethnic rivalries or competition over resources, but rather in the relationship between the citizens and the state.
Download pdf | More Information

Small Arms Control in Central Asia (MISAC)

Author(s): John Heathershaw, Emil Juraev, Michael von Tangen Page, Lada Zimina
2004-04

This study examines the activities and identifies the organisations that have been involved in the work against the illicit trafficking of small arms, following the July 2001 UN Conference on the Illicit Trade of Small Arms and Light Weapons in all its Aspects.
Download pdf | More Information

MORE
Caucasus and Central Asia overview

PROGRAMMES
Caucasus
Central Asia

LINKS

For more about conflict analysis, order a copy of our Conflict Sensitivity Resource Pack

For information on small arms proliferation in Central Asia, download our 2004 report, Small Arms Controls in Central Asia

MAILING LIST

Click here to join our mailing list and receive our monthly e-bulletin