*Update: Here is my review of Adeeb Khalid’s ‘Islam after Communism’ on the CA site. Josh Hammer of FPA’s ‘Terrorism‘ blog, wrote a fierce criticism of the Pakistani governments move to grant the Swat region autonomy. Hammer rightly fears that this may lead to other such claims of autonomy in the tribal areas of Afghanistan/Pakistan […]
When I read today’s Kyrgyzstan piece from Joel Brinkley, a former foreign policy hack for the NYT, I was convinced it was a spoof. The article, entitled “Why is Russia Bribing Kyrgyzstan?”, laments “the sheer gall behind Russia’s open challenge to Washington”, “Russia’s hostile intent”, “Russia’s determination to show Obama that Russia controls Central Asia”, […]
Now that Manas was officially ordered to be closed this past Friday, the US has 6 months to close up shop. On Tuesday, General Petraus visited Tashkent to discuss alternative supply routes. As you likely know, in 2005 the US base in Uzbekistan was closed after Uzbek authorities machine gunned 500 people in Andijon and […]
With ominous irony , Obama’s deployment of 17000 additonal troops to Afghanistan coincided with the 20th anniversary of the Soviet pull-out from that country. “They have repeated all our mistakes”, said Russia’s Ambassador to NATO Dmitri Rogozin. Soviet troops in Afghanistan called the mujahedeen fighters “dukhi”, or ghosts, for their ablity to spring up out […]
The Kyrgyzstan Parliament finally passed a law requiring the United States military to leave the Manas airbase in 6 months, though when this clock starts ticking is unsure. The US has not given up however, and US Secretary of Defense Bob Gates stated yesterday that negotiations were still under way. Gates stated: “We have not […]
I did not anticipate that I would be focusing so much on Tajikistan and its problems, but Radio Liberty is reporting that a deal has been signed between Uzbekistan and Tajikistan on water and power. Apparently, parts of Tajikistan have been without power since December. The deal will trade Uzbek debt for Uzbek gas and […]
That was how the liberal Novaya Gazeta, Anna Politkovskaya’s old paper and one that recently lost another of its journalists to a contract killing, summed up today’s “not guilty” verdict in the trial of Chechen brothers Dzhabrail and Ibragim Makhmudov as well as Moscow ex-cop, Sergei Khadzhikurbanov, for the murder of opposition journalist. Yet, at […]
Hello everyone. So I’ll be moving to my new blog, Afghanistan, which you guessed it, will concentrate on, Afghanistan. Elina will be taking over Central Asia and I look forward to her posts and to see where she takes the blog. I will from time to time do a post here as well. So please […]
**Welcome!!! My Foreign Policy Association ‘Afghanistan and Central Asia’ blog has been split in two and I will be the main blog writer for this Afghanistan blog. I will write up a quick summary of what I plan to cover and emphasize on this site in the next couple days. Glad you’re here.** President Obama fulfilled one […]
The New York Times has an interesting interview with S. Frederick Starr, Professor and Chairman of John Hopkin’s Central Asia-Caucasus Institute that provides more context for the recent announcement of the closure of the US base in Kyrgyzstan. He argues that the US was far too dependent on the base and the best route is […]
Welcome to the Foreignpolicyblogs.com blog, the latest addition to the Foreign Policy Blogs network.
Olivier Roy. That’s right Olivier Roy was at UCSD’s Political Science Department today and I was able to sneak in and listen to his lecture and Q & A. Mr. Roy, a Frenchman, is one of the most distinguished Western scholars of Islam. He has studied and worked for the United Nations and French foreign […]
In contrast to its neighboring countries with vast oil and gas resources, Tajikistan has the most important resource in the world; large reserves of fresh water. Some of this water is now being used for a single dam, the Nurek, which provides the country’s electricity. Unfortunately, the dam alone cannot provide enough power for Tajikistan’s […]
The Vagina Monologues of Soviet studies is finally here! After years of being made to feel guilty and ashamed about their past, of knowing that they did not fit into the virgin/whore, dissident/collaborator straitjacket of Western sovietology, ordinary ex-citizens of the USSR can thank Alexei Yurchak for an empowering and nuanced take on everyday Soviet […]
Watch former Italian prime minister Giuliano Amato speak about “Russia today from the European perspective”, a lecture organised by the Foreign Policy Association for the Game Changers series.