Central Asia: Living in Afghanistan’s Shadow

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In The Media

Central Asia: Living in Afghanistan’s Shadow

While the U.S.-led NATO operations in Afghanistan have resulted in somewhat enhanced security capacity for Central Asian countries, their long-term security challenges seem to be increasing, given the current situation in Afghanistan and the growing instability of Pakistan.

By Martha Brill Olcott

Published on Nov 10, 2009

Source: Norwegian Peacebuilding Centre Policy Brief

Central Asia: Living in Afghanistan’s ShadowThe absence of a functional government in Afghanistan has been creating economic and security challenges for the Central Asian states since their founding in 1991. Long frustrated by the international community’s failure to end the Afghan civil war through negotiation, the 2001 September 11 attack created the expectation among these countries that the US would intervene successfully in Afghanistan, leading to an economic recovery that would advance the development of all the states in the region.

While the US-led NATO operations in Afghanistan have resulted in somewhat enhanced security capacity in the Central Asian countries, most projects designed to strengthen the regional economy remain on the drawing board. In fact, the long-term security challenges faced by the Central Asian states seem to be increasing, given the current situation in Afghanistan and the growing instability of Pakistan.

As public pressure mounts in the US and in Europe to wind down their military involvement in Afghanistan, and to find other ways to protect their populations from the risks posed by al-Qaeda, Central Asian elites are left pondering how best to protect their own populations, in view of the limited regional, multilateral or bilateral assistance on offer.

Nato withdrawal would be very damaging for the Central Asian states and would greatly exacerbate the deteriorating economic and security conditions in some of these countries. Aid from the West is badly needed; however, in the past Western funding for projects in Central Asia has often fallen short. Given the financial climate, the current emphasis on smaller bilateral exchanges and cross-border production of electricity should be encouraged.

About the Author

Martha Brill Olcott

Former Senior Associate, Russia and Eurasia Program and, Co-director, al-Farabi Carnegie Program on Central Asia

Olcott is professor emerita at Colgate University, having taught political science there from 1974 to 2002. Prior to her work at the endowment, Olcott served as a special consultant to former secretary of state Lawrence Eagleburger.

Recent Work

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Political Reform Democracy Economy Security Military Foreign Policy North America United States South Asia Afghanistan Pakistan Central Asia Kazakhstan Kyrgyz Republic Tajikistan Turkmenistan Uzbekistan

Carnegie India does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

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