How Kazakhstan Can Become the Hub of the New Silk Road

The Trans-Caspian International Transit Route or “Middle Corridor” is Central Asia’s best bet for increasing connectivity and economic ties to the West. But Kazakhstan, the corridor’s hub, faces internal challenges like price competitiveness and external threats like climate change and geopolitics. The Middle Corridor stretches from western China across the vast Kazakh steppe and the […]
Afghanistan Two Years after the Taliban Take-over

On the two-year anniversary of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, JST asked five experts who worked in and on Afghanistan for their comments.
Afghanistan’s Relations with Neighbors Under the Taliban: Exporting Instability

In the two years since they took over Afghanistan, the Taliban have ignited several diplomatic crises and security threats across the country’s borders. Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan have warned that the Taliban are hosting terror groups, and UN and other sources have noted increasing drug trade, border tensions and refugee flows. Central Asian states, particularly […]
Walking a <i>Very</i> Fine Line: The Caspian Region Countries and Ukraine

Russia’s war against Ukraine has put the Caspian countries in a quandary, as they are seeking to maintain their fragile independence.