Eurasia / Opinion
COMMENT: Need and loathing in Russia – unpacking the labour migration paradox
Central Asian guest workers face growing hardship.
MACRO ADVISORY: Armenia and Azerbaijan, TRIPP’ing along the Zangezur Corridor
The Joint Declaration signed by the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan on August 8th in the White House, with the associated agreement to build the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP) might be a pivotal point.
COMMENT: Moscow's strategic defeat, Washington's noisy triumph in the South Caucasus
With the historic Washington deal, the US is seizing from Russia the role of main mediator in the Armenian-Azerbaijani process.
COMMENT: From an AI tax assistant to biometrics, Uzbekistan invests in digital services
The Uzbek government’s digitalisation effort is broad and all-encompassing.
MACRO ADVISORY: Georgia is too important to sanction
Despite warnings from the World Bank, the IMF and some Rating Agencies that the continuing protests in Tbilisi and the deteriorating relations with the European Union will have a negative impact on Georgia’s economy its not happening yet.
COMMENT: Can BRICS deliver beyond the rhetoric? experts weigh in
BRICS has evolved from an emerging economies club into a coalition Trump sees as threatening enough to warrant tariffs. Experts reveal tensions between China's dominance and multipolar goals, with institutional gaps but growing Global South support.
ASH: Türkiye – geopolitical opportunity knocks
Potential for big wins, but also new headaches for Erdogan.
Armenia walking ‘tightrope’ as it shifts away from Russia, think-tank says
Armenia is stepping up efforts to reduce its reliance on Russia, but is constrained by geography, security threats and deep economic ties to Moscow, according to think-tank Clingendael.
COMMENT: Kremlin goes on the offensive in the south by expanding former prime minister Kiriyenko's foreign policy powers
The Kremlin used to tread softly when exercising its influence in the countries along its southern border, but no more, after the powers of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s chief of staff Kiriyenko were expanded.
COMMENT: In recognising Taliban, Moscow had one eye on rise in Afghanistan of terrorist ISIS-K
Concerns that the jihadist group is operating near borders with Central Asia “helped shift Russia’s strategic calculus”.
COMMENT: Competing Trans-Afghan transport routes could split Central Asia
Central Asia is bottled up by an unstable Afghanistan. It would dearly love to open a southern corridor that leads to the huge and lucrative markets of Southeast Asia that could transform the economy of the region.
MACRO ADVISORY: Silk Roads for Gen Z and the fate of the Middle Corridor
Sanctions against Russia and the voluntary boycott of Russian ports and transit routes by major global transport and logistic companies, created the need for alternative routes to carry the growing volume of trade between China and Europe.
MACRO ADVISORY: Uzbekistan is in need of another gear
Uzbekistan has recorded remarkable growth over the past six years. GDP doubled, average incomes have risen three-fold. The president wants to double the economy again, but to do that, it needs to go up another gear: privatisation needs to accelerate.
COMMENT: Georgia goes from sanctions-dodging transit country to Russia’s oil export backdoor into Europe
Georgia has long been suspected of being a major transit country for European sanctioned goods travelling to Russia, but now it appears the trade is flowing in the other direction: Georgia has become a major backdoor into the EU for Russian oil.
Central Asia has become “like a girl whose house is full of suitors”, analyst says
Powers including China, Russia, the US and the EU “all promise something to the bride” in scramble for resources such as critical minerals.
COMMENT: What does the Israel-Iran confrontation mean for Azerbaijan?
Geopolitics in the Caucasus was already unstable before the war between Israel and Iran broke out at the weekend. Now it has become more confused and threatens to destabilise the region further.