Central Asia in the Future of the Euro-Atlantic Community

Since the end of the cold war and break-up of the Soviet Union, the NATO Alliance has made great progress in bringing Central and Eastern European countries into NATO as full members or closely affiliated partner countries.  NATO has now turned its attention to Central Asia, a region where engagement has been more limited in part because of the area’s complex geopolitical environment, the absence of democratic accountability, and the lack of strong links to the Euro-Atlantic community. While eschewing a zero-sum strategic competition with neighboring powers such as Russia and China, the United States would like the Central Asian countries to adopt a strategy that looks to the Euro-Atlantic community as its model for developing its security sector (e.g. collective defense, contributions of troops to stability operations, defense institutions appropriate to democratic governance).

The Capstone team will develop a framework for expanding U.S. and NATO partnership and capacity building in the Central Asian region. Students will consider the economic benefits (specifically with regard to energy reserves) as context for cooperation while focusing on the security dimension of expanding U.S. and NATO allies’ involvement in the region. They will also consider the impact of U.S./NATO involvement with the region on broader strategic objectives, including regional security, democratization/political reform, and relations with Russia, China, and other regional powers.