I have to admit that I rather liked this book. I was looking for a concise briefing on Central Asia, and this book provided it. It is short, to the point, and well observed. Just about everything you can expect from a briefing.
It has also given me some soundbites to capture the flavour of the countries involved. For example, Turkmenistan - it's like North Korea, with oil and gas. Tajikistan - like Turkmenistan, only without the gas and oil. Kyrgyzstan - like Tajikistan, only poorer. Uzbekistan - don't mention Uzbekistan, the worst of the lot. And what about Kazakhstan? A poor man's southern Russia?
The similarities stand out. All of them have autocratic governments. All of them border on being failed states. All of them have high levels of corruption. All of them are riven by tribal factionalism. All of them, to one degree or another, rely upon Russia for their financial viability. All of their governments fear the advance of radical Islam. And none of them have the wherewithal to do anything about it. They are locked into their Soviet past, which is stunting their future.
I was in need of a briefing on these countries for work. I feel that this book told me all that I needed to know. Looking to the future, America is on the retreat in the region and China is on the advance. This region is vital to the BRI, which means that it will receive a good deal of Chinese attention in the near future. Against this is a cross current of two regional powers - Russia and Iran. I feel that much of the story of the 21st Century could be written on the steppes of the Stans.
Stephen Aguilar-Millan
© The European Futures Observatory 2020
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