Recent Publications

Assessing the Collective Security Treaty Organization: Capabilities and Vulnerabilities
October 18, 2018 — Author: Dr Richard WeitzRussia has strengthened its military position in Central Asia and the South Caucasus through a combination of bilateral and multilateral initiatives. The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) has become the most important multilateral defense structure in the former Soviet Union and is an essential instrument in... MORE

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Central Asia’s Shrinking Connectivity Gap: Implications for U.S. Strategy
November 1, 2014 — Author: Mr Roman Muzalevsky View the Executive SummaryThe United States is witnessing a transformation of Central Asia—a critical yet highly understudied and misunderstood area of the world, which is seeing growing influence of China, India, and Russia. The agendas of these actors, as well as the United States, Japan, the EU, Turkey, and Iran,... MORE

Strategic Implications of the Evolving Shanghai Cooperation Organization
August 1, 2014 — Authors: Dr Andrew Monaghan, Mr Henry Plater-Zyberk View the Executive SummaryThe role of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in regional politics and the significance of the organization for U.S. interests are widely misunderstood. The organization is emphatically not a military bloc, and yet engages in joint activities which resemble... MORE

Strategic Consequences of the Iraq War: U.S. Security Interests in Central Asia Reassessed
May 1, 2004 — Author: Dr Elizabeth Wishnick The U.S.-led war in Iraq complicates security cooperation between the United States and Central Asia at a time when other regional powers—especially Russia, China, and India—are competing for influence in the region more overtly. Concerned about the implications of the U.S. interest in "regime change" for their own... MORE

Toward a New U.S. Strategy in Asia
February 1, 2004 — Author: Dr Stephen J Blank Each month a member of the SSI faculty writes an editorial for our monthly newsletter. This is the Op-Ed for the February 2004 newsletter.Read Now MORE

Countering Global Terrorism: Developing the Antiterrorist Capabilities of the Central Asian Militaries
February 1, 2004 — Author: Mr Roger N McDermott The author offers a framework for improving the antiterrorist capabilities of the Central Asian militaries, including increased and focused military training with a special emphasis on Special Forces units. The training should take place within a regional train and equip program to increase effectiveness and efficiency... MORE

Growing U.S. Security Interests in Central Asia
October 1, 2002 — Author: Dr Elizabeth Wishnick The author assesses U.S. security interests and military activities in Central Asia. She notes that strengthening the Central Asian states against terrorism and assisting their transition to stable and prosperous nations are difficult and fraught with danger. In particular, there is the risk that the U.S. military... MORE

U.S. Military Engagement with Transcaucasia and Central Asia
June 1, 2000 — Author: Dr Stephen J Blank The Clinton administration has proclaimed a strategy to engage and enlarge the democratic community of states. By virtue of their strategic location adjacent to Russia, the Middle East, and Europe s periphery, and their large-scale oil and natural gas deposits, Transcaucasia and Central Asia have become important testing... MORE

Opening Pandora’s Box: Ethnicity and Central Asian Militaries
October 1, 1998 — Author: LTC Dianne L Smith The author examines whether ethnic consciousness affects military service and the specific roles played by ethnic groups within the armed forces, or if military institutions affect ethnicity. The Soviets used military service as a tool to break down ethnicity and create a "New Soviet Man." They failed. Do Central Asian... MORE

Breaking Away from the Bear
August 1, 1998 — Author: LTC Dianne L Smith Lieutenant Colonel Dianne L. Smith examines the development of post-Soviet Central Asian armed forces, Central Asian efforts to guarantee their national security, and the implications for the United States of this struggle. She cautions that the United States use its influence and its military-to-military contact programs... MORE

Challenges and Options in the Caucasus and Central Asia
April 22, 1997 — Author: Dr Pavel K Baev In April 1997, the U.S. Army War College held its Eighth Annual Strategy Conference. This year's topic was "Russia's Future as a World Power." Dr. Pavel K. Baev, a senior researcher at the International Peace Research Institute in Oslo, Norway, discusses the disintegration of order along Russia's southern border. Following a... MORE

Central Asia: A New Great Game?
June 1, 1996 — Author: LTC Dianne L Smith In January 1996, the U.S. Army War College's Strategic Studies Institute (SSI) and the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) hosted a conference on "Asian Security to the Year 2000." One focus of the conferees was the growing relevance of events in Central Asia. Perhaps nowhere on the continent was the... MORE