Publication

This issue of the Central Asia-Caucasus Analyst includes analytical articles and field reports on security issues facing the Central Asia-Caucasus region in August 2011. The analytical articles examine the challenges Leon Panetta faces in drawing down troops from Afghanistan; conflict mediation in Kyrgyzstan; political reform in Turkmenistan in the wake of explosions at an arms depot; and the implications of bilateral tensions between Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan for Central Asian regionalism. In addition, some shorter field reports provide accounts of a large-scale prison amnesty announced in Tajikistan; the succession struggle in Kazakhstan in the wake of President Nazarbayev’s announcement of his intention to step down early; CIA's suspicions of Russian involvement in the US Embassy bombing in Tbilisi; and judicial reform in Kyrgyzstan.