BY: S.Alireza Behbahani
PEJOURNAL – With the collapse of the Soviet Union and the rise of the Commonwealth of Independent States in 1991, the Caucasus and Central Asia regained the ability to re-establish relations in various political, security, economic, and cultural fields with its neighbors and other trans-regional powers.
This region is strategically located due to the existence of underground oil and gas reserves and the important geographical location between the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea, in the area of New Eurasia, from a dormant region far from the center to a region considered by regional and trans-regional powers. It has become a region.
This feeling is important for the Caucasus and Central Asia, which is historically an important route for trade between East and West, and in modern history is the development route to southern Europe and the Black Sea and Caspian region to Iran and Turkey. In this lecture, the classification of great powers into two groups, regional and supra-regional, the extent and how they play their role due to their position are explained.
Central Asia; An Integrated area with geopolitics
Although the economic situation of Central Asian countries depends on the internal decisions of their governments, there are a number of problems within the region that make it difficult for the first steps of these independent countries. When the Soviet Union equipped itself with electricity or irrigated the region, its development policies were never based on the assumption that one day the artificial republics of Central Asia would become independent states;
Thus, when the countries of Central Asia faced the task of building independent entities in 1991, they were all linked to a common economic and geopolitical space. None of the countries of the former Soviet Union is more closely linked than the countries of Central Asia. This connection is due both to their strong sense of their common cultural and religious origins and heritage, and simply to the geography of the region.
Among the Central Asian republics, precise physical boundaries have never been drawn, and this has led Central Asian leaders to worry about security threats, such as drugs or the spread of Islam, because of such intra-regional connections. They are political. The governments of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan are particularly concerned that their countries may one day become part of an international opium route starting in Afghanistan. Regional cooperation is a difficult task. The Association of Central Asian Nations has now changed its name to the Economic Community of Central Asia, and various meetings have been held between the heads and prime ministers of the countries in order to accelerate the process of regional economic cooperation.
Regional powers in Central Asia
a. Russia and Central Asia; Since the mid-1990s, some observers have argued that Russia is regaining the role and influence it lost after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the independence of Central Asia. However, it seems that the way Russia returned to the region in the second half of the 1990s was accompanied by a rapid but unintended process of Russia’s withdrawal; In other words, Russia was losing its influence in the economic, political, cultural and security spheres. Although it remained the strongest foreign power in Central Asia and a major player in regional relations, its position was damaged by more foreign involvement.
Western intervention in the Caucasus and Central Asia has drastically changed the strategic scene and has had direct consequences for Russia. Disappointed, Russia sought a policy to counter its backwardness in the region in order to lose what it considered to be its backyard.
In the Central Asian region, there is great potential for conflict. By dividing commitments and loyalties into racial, regional, and religious categories, differences may cross borders. Racially complex populations, regional differences, difficult socio-economic conditions and Islamic revival create a fertile ground for differences and extremism in all Central Asian countries. In this context, some factors are more likely to lead to the spread and escalation of conflicts, thereby changing the main variables in the region. Among them are the Tajik, Uzbek and Afghan agents.
Russia tried to influence all three of these factors. As for the Tajik agent, it should be noted that Russia has been involved in the Tajik civil war since 1992 and, along with Uzbekistan, helped Rakhmonov seize power that year. Following this process, Russia maintained its influence even after the signing of the peace agreement in June 1997. The agreement turned the Islamist forces, which Russia wanted to destroy, into an ally of the Tajik government.
As for the Uzbek factor, it must be said that it is ready to turn Uzbekistan into a regional power in Central Asia and change the balance of regional power. There is also a danger that growing tensions in Uzbek society, between the government and its critics, first and foremost extremist Islamists, will exacerbate the situation in neighboring countries. Uzbekistan has a vested interest in the events in Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, despite its large minorities.
Russia’s policy of ignoring northern Tajikistan in the peace process has been instrumental in making Uzbekistan the most outspoken critic of Russia in the region. Russia sought to counter Uzbek influence in Tajikistan as well as Kyrgyzstan, and also sought common ground for cooperation with Uzbekistan. The fight against religious extremism and international terrorism has much in common. However, Russia’s ability to influence the Uzbek factor in the long run appears to be limited.
From the Russian point of view, the Afghan factor is also a source of instability and the spread of extremist Islam to Central Asia. When Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan decided in September 1993 to establish the CIS Collective Peacekeeping Force in Tajikistan’s civil war, the Afghan unrest was indirectly cited as a threat to Central Asia. At that time, Russia secretly and quietly supported the government of President Burhanuddin Rabbani with the internal events in Afghanistan.
After the Taliban took control of Afghanistan’s political scene in 1996, Russia lost the opportunity to influence the situation in Kabul with the help of Tashkent, despite a strong reaction to it and because of the common interest of Uzbekistan and Iran in seizing power from the Taliban. .
Overall, it can be said that Russia’s ability to influence these regional dynamics has diminished; In other words, Tajik, Uzbek, and Afghan elements are creating dynamics in the region that can easily escape control and complexity in order to further undermine Russian influence in Central Asia.
Regarding Russia’s presence in the strategic scene of Central Asia and the Caucasus, it should be noted that Russia’s international policy in Central Asia is understandable in the context of its efforts to maintain regional stability and prevent foreign influence in Central Asian countries. Russia’s relations with Iran, Turkey, and China normalized after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
The previous ideological division was eliminated, and the fact that Russia no longer had a border with Iran and Turkey and that its border with China had been shortened helped to calm relations; However, during the 1990s, as these countries became potential Russian rivals for influence in Central Asia, a new element of competition entered into these equations.
It was of particular importance to Russia to establish this understanding among other regional powers that Russia’s strategic and national interests in Central Asia should be respected. With the entry of the United States into the region, the strategic situation of the Caspian region and Central Asia became military.
In general, it can be said that Russia is watching with concern the growing involvement of foreign powers, especially the United States and Turkey in Central Asia. Given that countries may have influence in Central Asia, even if there is room for competition. In addition, there is infrastructure for mutual understanding, especially between Russia, China and Iran. They do not only have common interests in regional stability; Iran and China recognize Russia’s core interests in the region.
The growing influence of the West in Central Asia has also become a factor in the renewed friendship between these countries; So far, however, there has been no indication of a strategic anti-Western alliance between Russia, China and Iran in the context of Central Asia; Neither these governments nor any other governments seem ready for such a coalition.
Russia is losing its former role as Central Asia’s security director. In the 1990s, it failed to establish a voluntary security community with Central Asian countries. In contrast, Central Asian countries adopted different identities, values, and interests. Russia offered military assistance and cooperation in the face of foreign threats that it no longer shared with Central Asian countries; Only three of the five countries continued their military cooperation in the CIS, and Uzbekistan was not the most powerful country in the region. Russian troops in Tajikistan and the country’s border guards in Kazakhstan were left alone.
A major dispute or crisis in Central Asia that Western governments and the United States will refrain from intervening will give Russia a chance to reorient the security policy of key Central Asian countries to its advantage, whether Russia’s diminished capabilities Allowing it to take advantage of such an opportunity successfully is another question.
The changes that have taken place in the region since the collapse of the Soviet Union mean that Russia will have difficulty restoring its position in Central Asia in the early 1990s as a dominant, guarantor or security director. However, Russia will remain a natural partner of Central Asian countries due to its geographical location, long borders and various common security issues. As President Putin has suggested, an economically strong Russia would be an attractive partner for cooperation with Central Asian countries; However, in the coming years, Russia will be busy with its internal affairs.
During this period, Russia could play a role as one of the few influential countries in creating a new security framework in Central Asia.
B. China and Central Asia; In its efforts to modernize the image of Sino-Central Asian relations, China has focused on economic development and reform, and in fact has pursued a kind of open door policy. As a result, a peaceful, stable, and stable regional and international environment has become a necessity, and this has encouraged a policy of good neighborly relations.2 China expands relations with newly independent Central Asian states, five issues Considered important.
First: Chinese strategists realized that the strategic importance of Central Asian countries would increase and that the region would have a significant influence on the world of the 21st century. Economically, Central Asia and the surrounding areas will play an important role in the world’s energy supply. Politically, the countries of Central Asia are increasingly demonstrating their own approach, which differs from that of Russia and Ukraine and beyond, Central and Eastern Europe.
They will not follow the example of Iran, where religion and government form a political structure; Although Central Asian political leaders are interested in the Turkish political system because of its secular government; But they are unlikely to follow the Turkish model. Chinese observers see the future role of Central Asia not only as dependent on the power of each of the five countries in the region, but also on how they work with other neighbors and the issues that follow them. A coalition between the countries of Central Asia and each of the regional powers will affect the structure of the international system.
If Central Asian countries are sympathetic to their southern neighbors, this will make it difficult for the United States and Western powers to intervene in the region, and reduce the potential economic benefits of being in the region. If the countries of Central Asia unite to a large extent with the countries of the West, then Russia’s political and economic interests will be harmed.
Second, China considers Central Asia in the context of Eurasia. They play a communicative role not only geographically but also politically and culturally. Central Asia can be called a bridge between East and West; China is strongly interested in the stability and prosperity of the region. Any chaos around this bridge will affect the future of political-economic cooperation across the Eurasian continent. That is why political-economic cooperation with Central Asia is so important to China. China supports any move to maintain stability and prosperity, and opposes any behavior or ideology that harms stability and prosperity.
Third, China gives high priority to expanding bilateral and cross-border relations with Central Asian countries. The wider and closer these relations become, the more mutual interests will benefit and will contribute to the stability and prosperity of the region.
Fourth, China views its relations with Central Asian countries in terms of Xinjiang’s stability and development. China will expand the framework and dynamics of cooperation beyond Xinjiang’s borders and develop relations based on the principles of equality and mutual benefit.
Finally, China has had friendly relations with Central Asian countries since ancient times. The Silk Road established close links between China and the people of Central Asia. At the beginning of the new century, the country believes that all countries in the region need the Silk Road and its construction.
Since the independence of Central Asia in 1991, these countries and China have shared security concerns. In its relations with these countries, the Chinese government emphasizes the five principles of peaceful coexistence. These principles are: peace, cooperation, development, trade and mutual welfare, and progress and understanding.
On the other hand, Central Asian countries should consider economic and trade cooperation with China strategically due to economic and trade weaknesses. China has several irreplaceable functions for Central Asian countries. First, it must be acknowledged that greater cooperation with China and the Pacific will enable Central Asian countries to join the Asian economy more quickly. Designed oil and gas pipelines between China and Central Asia offer greater benefits to Central Asia. Markets must be considered from the perspective of mutual benefits! Central Asian countries must also enter the Chinese market, and China must provide them with the space to do so.
Another is that in the process of economic recovery of Central Asian countries, they have to rely on China for the supply of ordinary consumer goods. This complementary arrangement will bring the economies of China and Central Asia closer together. Succeeding in Central Asia is possible only through enhanced economic cooperation with China.
In describing China’s presence on the strategic stage in Central Asia, it must be said that there is no doubt that foreign powers are exerting undue influence on Central Asian countries, and that their interests are incompatible. In general, the following power groups have a special role: Russia, the US-led West, the Islamic world and China, and some other Asian countries.
The United States has led China to blame Russia for the stability of Central Asia and even the surrounding region. Russia and China both pursue peace and stability in their strategic approach and support regional cooperation while opposing the influence of major powers in the region. While there are similar security views, there are also contradictions between China and Russia. Russia considers Central Asian countries to be within its sphere of influence and does not want China to interfere in them.
China opposes Russia’s view that Central Asia is its sphere of influence and supports their independence, cooperation, and sovereignty over other countries; As a result, China understands Russia’s strong role in the region and recognizes that Russia’s military cooperation with Central Asian countries is beneficial to the region’s stability. On the other hand, the United States, as a country that can be considered Central Asia, in addition to other regions, as its area of protection, and from the perspective of its interests, considers the countries of Central Asia from the widest angle.
The reason for such a presence is nothing but huge energy reserves and control over it, countering fundamentalism, restraining Russia through political, military and economic influence in Central Asia, and ultimately weakening Russia’s strategic influence and restraining China’s strategic plan. As a result, China opposes the dangerous US presence in the region in various ways, especially because of the stability of Central Asia and the presence of military bases in Central Asia.
All of this has to do with the security of northwestern China. In the current international political climate, the strategic importance of Central Asian countries to China will increase. Stability and development are the cornerstones of China’s relations with its neighbors. This includes the stability and development of each of the Central Asian countries, between those countries and between Central Asia and other regions. As a result, from China’s point of view, the following requirements are a factor in expanding relations with Central Asian countries:
Central Asian countries should support China’s view of Taiwan.
China must support the independence and independent development of each Central Asian country.
China and each of the Central Asian states should consider each other as security partners.
China and Central Asia must stand together against separatism, terrorism and extremist Islamism.
China and its three neighboring countries in Central Asia must use the privilege of cross-border communication to strengthen friendship, understanding and communication.
– Relations between China and Central Asia must be built on a strong economic foundation.
China and the countries of Central Asia must work together to defend peace and justice on the international stage.
. Iran and Central Asia; Regarding Iran’s relations with Central Asian countries, it should be said that the development of cooperation and regional security concerns is its primary focus on Tehran.
What effect do the security issues of Central Asia have on Iran, and what do Iranian experts and policymakers think about Central Asia and Iran’s position in it? In the early 1990s, after the Central Asian states became independent, the security and foreign policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran had changed from the years after the 1979 revolution, and at that time they tended to prioritize ideological interests (which Characterized by a revolutionary government) and opposed the preservation of the international status quo and rejected it; But by the early 1990s, the export of the revolution had not been undermined by a combination of internal and external developments.
In the aftermath of the imposed war, the urgent need for reconstruction and overall social and economic development encouraged policymakers to focus more on national material interests in all areas. In foreign relations, this was explained by the emphasis on trade and investment attraction; Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, foreign countries, especially Iran, flocked to Central Asia to cooperate in order to advance their interests and avoid possible consequences.
Iran, at first, had little information, like the West and Turkey, about the Central Asian republics and was surprised by their sudden achievement of independence. This surprise indicated that Iran, like other international actors, was witnessing the collapse of the Soviet Union creating a vacuum in the southern part of the former Soviet Union that was inevitably filled by some foreign ideologies and powers.
At worst, the United States and its allies Turkey and Israel intervened, encircling Iran’s northern borders, and completing the isolation of the Islamic Republic of Iran; But if all went well, the Muslim population would rediscover its cultural roots; Islamic governments came to power and provided a bed of small and friendly countries for Iran. In any case, the creation of eight new countries had a significant impact on Iran’s strategic geography.
Instead of seeing itself as one of two non-Arab countries in the Arab-dominated northern part of the Middle East, Iran, like Turkey, saw itself as the center of gravity of a vast Middle East that included the non-Arab peoples of Central Asia and the South Caucasus.
In general, it should be emphasized that Central Asian countries, either individually or collectively, do not impose any conventional security threats on Tehran. In terms of population, GDP and military might, Iran alone is stronger than any other Central Asian country. It has no border disputes with Turkmenistan, the only Central Asian country with a common border with Iran, and by adopting a neutral position, Turkmenistan has secured Iran’s concerns about its enemies infiltrating its northern borders.
There have been no claims of separatist tendencies either among the Turkmen population in Iran or in Turkmenistan itself. Contrary to Iran-Azerbaijan relations, the signing of Kazakhstan’s last nuclear weapons in 1995 eliminated only a hypothetical direct threat from other Central Asian countries. Thus, Iran’s concerns focus on softer and more indirect threats.
Central Asian countries are thought to be weak and fragile and unable to meet their security challenges, and this may have a negative impact on Iran’s security. The dangers commonly cited by Iranian analysts include separatism and extremist racial nationalism, or the weakness of the nation-state process and the inadequate cohesion of political institutions, leading to civil war. Our crisis will lead to a more general circle as well as the creation of a humanitarian crisis and a flood of refugees.
Examples of Tajikistan’s civil war and the perception that the three smaller Central Asian states (Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan are weak or artificial) exacerbate this risk, and the possibility of a humanitarian crisis due to environmental or economic catastrophes is also mentioned as a potential threat. Iran must respond.
Turkey and Central Asia; The Caucasus and Central Asia region has long been of interest to Turkey in terms of its political position and potential energy potential, and it has always sought to play the role of an older brother in those regions, according to officials. The dramatic global, regional and domestic developments of the last two decades have transformed Turkey from a backward country of strategic importance to the West to a regional power with ambitious ambitions in the Middle East, Central Asia and the Caucasus. Is.
Although Turkey is no longer strategically important to the West during the Cold War; But Turkish policymakers have created a new role for it, a role worthy of a regional power with significant economic-security potential and in line with the general policies of the Western world. With the end of the Cold War and the loss of Turkey’s privileged strategic position, some Turkish politicians came to the conclusion that Turkey should turn its attention to the East. The end of Russia’s political domination of Central Asia and the Caucasus is a golden opportunity for Turkey.
Economically, Turkey is the closest exit route to European countries, and vice versa, the Caucasus region, followed by Central Asia, is the shortest route for trade routes between Turkey and the countries of Southeast Asia, China and Japan. For Turkey, the way to penetrate the entire Central Asian region is the Caucasus route, and the Caucasus is the most important gateway for the country to develop economic relations and trade relations with the republics of the region.
Given the existence of energy reserves in the Caspian region and basin, Turkey, with the support of the United States, has always viewed the transfer of oil and gas from the Caspian basin and the region of Central Asia and the Caucasus to world markets from a strategic perspective. In such a way that the emphasis on the construction of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, despite being declared uneconomical, is pursued by Turkey in line with the mentioned goal; In general, Turkey’s goals in the region can be considered as follows:
A. Expanding Turkish influence in Central Asia and the Caucasus and finding a suitable place in the region.
B. Presenting a model of secular government, as the only desirable system of government to replace the communist system in the region.
. Presenting the idea of pan-Turkism and forming a great alliance among 200 million Turks, from Central Asia to the bottom of the Balkan Peninsula.
. Prevent the spread of Islamic fundamentalism and revolutionary thinking in the region.
. Provide financial, financial and technical assistance to influence Central Asia and the Caucasus
Overall, Turkey could use its ties with the United States and NATO to have a significant impact on Central Asia, and these ties are related to how China, Russia and Iran perceive Turkish involvement in Central Asia.
Turkish officials are likely to pay more attention to Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan, which are closer to Turkey, although they will not export large amounts of energy to Turkey. The result is that Turkey will remain an important player in Central Asia, especially in the Caspian region after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Trans regional powers in Central Asia
- The United States and Central Asia: In the minds of the American foreign policy elite, the idea has emerged that with the disintegration of the Soviet Union and the withdrawal from the bipolar system, the country could for the first time establish its political presence in newly independent countries as far as China. And achieve success in other dimensions, including military, political, economic and cultural.
In general, US interests in Central Asia can be analyzed in the following main areas:
1. Curbing Islamism; After the independence of the republics and the fresh air of Islamism and the search for ways to expand relations with Muslim countries, especially the Islamic Republic of Iran, the United States became concerned about the growth of Islamism in the region. In 1992, for the first time, the United States seriously stated that one of its goals in the Central Asian region was to prevent the growth of Islamism in these republics, and senior US officials in this regard addressed the presidents of the countries in the region in Influenced by the influence of Islamism under the influence of Iran, they warned and asked them to stay out of this process completely.
The reflection of this fear is very clear in Brzezinski’s words: “The dangerous vortex that may arise from creating a political geographical vacuum for the United States and Russia is Islamism; “The growing Islamic awakening is not just a clash of Russian interests, but a threat to US sovereignty in the region and the world.”
2. Restraint and isolation of Iran; Since the fall of the imperial regime in Iran, the Islamic Republic of Iran has become the largest US opponent in the region. In this sense, the US policy of sanctions against Iran is not a new policy. This policy is precisely based on the situation of the United States and how it has a presence in Central Asia, and its purpose is to prevent Iran from emerging as a regional power; Therefore, the strategic and long-term possibilities through which Iran’s regional position finds a privileged position have been taken away and US pressures can eliminate the right atmosphere for achieving this goal.
3. Avoid excessive Russian influence in Central Asia; Since the independence of the republics in the region, the United States has declared an important principle of its foreign policy to strengthen and support the independence of these republics. US foreign policy makers are trying to prevent Russia from re-establishing power in the region and weakening the independence of the newly independent republics by taking appropriate action against Russia. In the United States, there is a suspicion of any convergence in the post-Soviet space within the CIS.
In this regard, the United States blames Russia for the ambitions of the new empire. The direct and indirect ways for the United States to counter Russia’s excessive influence and convergence between Central Asian countries are to prevent the implementation of joint projects between the former republics, to establish negative relations, and to try to prevent their political and military reunification. . In fact, the United States seeks to consolidate its geopolitical development strategy in the post-Soviet Eurasian region.
The United States began a massive effort to fill the geopolitical glimmer around the Russian Federation; In formulating the US strategy in the region, the need to block the development of Russian influence and emphasize the use of appropriate policies and tools to achieve this goal, has always been considered by US officials.
4. Efforts to provide a model for the countries of the region; From the US point of view, Turkey is a good model for the newly independent Central Asian countries in the region, in various dimensions, because Turkey, a Western-oriented country and a member of NATO, believes in the separation of religion from politics and defends Western interests in the region. Regarding the Turkish model, a few points are important for US foreign policy in the Central Asian region:
– Turkey is in line with the United States in terms of Western values and system of government!
– The predominance of these republics with Turkey can weaken the culture of Islamic fundamentalism in the region.
Turkey is a military ally of the West and the United States, and countries in the region can count on its military role.
Undoubtedly, the US goal in introducing Turkey as a model and helping it to influence the region is to prevent the spread of Iranian and Russian influence and to prevent the spread of political Islam and to secure the interests of the West.
5- Military-security goals: One of the goals of the United States to reduce Russia’s influence in the region is to include the countries of the region in the field of Western military-security relations, in which the Central Asian countries are at the heart of this American goal. In any case, the countries of Central Asia have accurately entered into security agreements with the United States; In the form of NATO’s expansion to the east, the United States has been able to conduct military exercises and conclude a series of military alliances with those countries, increasingly and beyond the implementation of the Partnership for Peace program with countries in the region, especially Central Asia.
The countries of Central Asia deserve peaceful and unhindered development, and Russia’s efforts to limit their sovereignty and to maintain colonial relations are accelerating US power in the region, which Washington first refused to ratify; But it is not clear at this time whether Washington knows the limits of its presence in the Central Asian region. At the same time, the massive and rapid display of American investment and military presence in Central Asia and the Caucasus represents a form of display of power.
But in the end, if US policy in Central Asia fails to achieve its core goals of unifying and democratizing Central Asia, and Central Asia fails to achieve internal or external security; It will then return to a situation where Central Asia is marginalized in the US strategy, which, even if it were to be the case, would not be feasible because of the restraint of Russia and the threat to Iran’s national security beyond that.
B. Europe and Central Asia; European countries have traditionally been associated with the Central Asian region, and in the current situation we see special attention from some European countries to parts of Central Asia and to Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan.
The European Union sees its first task as helping these countries to strengthen their independence and promote democracy in these countries; The EU, therefore, in the form of partnership agreements, has formulated part of its strategy that enables Central Asian countries to no longer focus solely on Moscow in their political and economic relations. Europe has not only developed its bilateral relations with each of the Central Asian countries through partnership agreements, but also seeks to develop its relations with these republics in multilateral dimensions, such as freight transport (TRACICA) and Also expand energy (inogit) .15
The European Union has also approved the “establishment” program in the form of technical and educational assistance to countries in the region. The program is designed with a budget of 10 million euros, which includes areas of cooperation including human resource development, private sector development and energy sector.
European countries consider relations with Russia in their relations with the Central Asian republics, because they believe that Russia should be considered as one of the effective elements after the economic recovery, given its potential in the European complex. Gave place. Europe is not happy with the uni polarity of the world under the undisputed leadership of the United States and is looking for factors that create obstacles to this, one of which is the strengthening of the European Club.
On the other hand, the expansion of European institutions and the acceleration of the Caspian Sea energy development process has increased Europe’s interest and participation in the Central Asian region, and Europe does not want to lag behind the foreign competition scene in the Central Asian region as an international player. The membership of the countries of this region, together with Russia, in the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe, and the great interest of Europe in taking a role in the conflicts in the region, are all clear signs of Europe’s desire to expand its influence in Central Asia.
Conclusion
Now, the traditional definition of Central Asia as a group of five countries is no longer appropriate for strategic analysis and policy discussions, as a borderless network extends Central Asia to the South Caucasus, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iran. , Connects Turkey and China’s Xinjiang province. With its vastness, Central Asia has led to the serious and profound presence of major regional and trans-regional powers in the region, all of which have their presence, involvement, or relationship with Central Asian countries, their own security, or their neighborhood history.
And such a presence is nothing but internal insecurity and instability of these countries and the region and ultimately the world, and causes the collision of countries or great powers in a part of the world energy zone that sometimes deprives the whole world of its presence. And affects the regional instability created.