The European Union and Central Asia: Bridging the Digital Divide
Digital transformation has become a major international development topic. In November 2022, the EU launched a Team Europe Initiative on...
Commentaries
Mission impossible: the Team Europe Initiative on Water, Energy, and Climate in Central Asia
In November 2022, the EU launched a Team Europe Initiative on Water, Energy, and Climate. Central Asia’s environmental problems, amidst...
Kazakhstan’s international balancing act moves closer to home
As part of its nation-building process, Kazakhstan has strived to position itself as an international host and peace broker. The...
The unwomanly face of Kazakhstan’s Qantar
Kazakhstan’s Qandy Qantar or ‘Bloody January’, which happened one year ago, was gendered as it was dominated by men. Kazakhstan’s...
Tajik labour migrants looking for greener pastures
Tajik labour migration to Russia is well-known. Less familiar is the still small, though increasing, number of labour migrants going...
EU-Central Asia co-operation: same venue, different tune
As a result of Russia’s war in Ukraine, the focus of Europe-Central Asia relations is likely to change. In weathering these...
Rethinking the EU’s ‘prosperity’ agenda in Central Asia
The EU wants to lay the ground for a more prosperous Central Asia. One potential emerging path for the EU in...
The EU’s ‘resilience’ agenda in Central Asia: too distant, too ambitious
The EU seeks to promote ‘resilience’ in Central Asia. The war in Ukraine should urge the EU to rethink its region-based...
Seven pointers for the new EUSR for Central Asia
The position of European Union Special Representative (EUSR) for Central Asia is key for EU-Central Asia relations. The EU’s visibility...
Delivering aid ‘uphill’: Discussing development cooperation in the mountainous regions of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan
The mountainous regions of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan present a set of specific development challenges and opportunities to inhabitants, local governments,...
Out of the frying pan and into the fire: Kyrgyzstani women abroad
Kyrgyzstani female labourers working abroad face a double risk: being women and being migrants. Most lack basic social and legal...
Not safe at home: Covid-19 in Kyrgyzstan
Women and girls in Kyrgyzstan have been severely affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. Domestic violence and sexual abuse already were...