Through the new EU Central Asia strategy, Brussels seems determined to breathe new life into its efforts to “court” Central Asia. But the EU is neither the only international player interested in the region nor is it the most influential one. No doubt Central Asia’s strategic importance in international affairs is growing: in between Asia and Europe, the region is considered by Russia and Turkey as part of their spheres of influence and is at the heart of the three mainland routes of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). This dossier looks at the different dimensions of Central Asia’s geopolitical relevance, in light of the latest developments brought about by two landmark political transitions in the region: the end of the regimes of Nursultan Nazarbayev in Kazakhstan and Islam Karimov in Uzbekistan. The dossier also lingers on the rivalries among different regional and international actors, whose strategic interests in the Central Asian region may clash.
