CAPS Unlock Podcast

This end-of-year episode of the CAPS Unlock podcast is longer than usual, deliberately so.As our final instalment of 2025, it takes stock of a year that reshaped Central Asia in ways that are still coming into focus. To help make sense of it, we were joined by CAPS Unlock co-founder and senior fellow and director of the Program on Central Asia at Harvard University’s Davis Center, Nargis Kassenova, whose perspective anchors a wide-ranging conversation that moves from borders and geopolitics to domestic politics, information space, and long-term structural change.The first part of the episode revisits four dynamics that defined the region over the past year. We begin with regional integration, focusing on what was arguably the most consequential event of 2025: the Kyrgyzstan–Tajikistan border agreement. After decades of tension and periodic violence in the Ferghana Valley, the formal delimitation of the border marked a genuine regional breakthrough, with implications that extend far beyond bilateral relations.From there, the discussion turns to political power and succession. Across the region, new figures, including presidential daughters, security chiefs, and long-standing insiders, are taking on more visible roles. Rather than signalling renewal, these shifts often reflect elite anxiety about managing succession under authoritarian conditions, with mixed results and few clear models for stability.A third theme is the contraction of civic and media space. The episode examines recent crackdowns on independent journalism and political opposition, particularly in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, and asks whether this tightening reflects short-term insecurity, technological disruption, or a more durable turn toward managed information environments.The conversation then widens to geopolitics. From the EU–Central Asia summit in Samarkand to the C5+1 meeting in Washington, 2025 was dense with diplomatic choreography. While Central Asia continues to hedge between Russia, China, Europe, the United States, Turkey, and the Gulf, the episode probes whether this balancing act is translating into tangible gains, or merely new dependencies, against the backdrop of global instability.In the second half of the episode, the focus turns inward. CAPS Unlock’s executive director, Aida Aidarkulova, joins the discussion to reflect on the organisation’s work over the past year: research projects, public events, translation initiatives, and efforts to strengthen regional policy communities. The conversation also looks ahead, outlining priorities for 2026 and the challenges facing independent analysis in Central Asia.The episode closes with a forward-looking segment offering interpretive signposts rather than predictions; ways of thinking about how Central Asian societies are evolving, how geopolitics is reshaping the region’s options, and how technological change is creating both opportunity and risk.This is the final CAPS Unlock podcast of 2025. We thank our listeners for their attention and support over the past year, wish you a restful holiday season, and look forward to continuing the conversation in the year ahead. Get full access to Havli - A Central Asia Substack at havli.substack.com/subscribe

This week’s episode opens on the frontier of Afghanistan and Tajikistan, where two late-November attacks on Chinese workers killed five people and injured several others at a gold mine and road-building site.With both incidents allegedly involving fire from Afghan territory, almost no independent reporting, and only terse official statements to go on, the discussion probes what can be said with confidence: why the timing is so anomalous, how the violence cuts across Tajikistan’s cautious thaw with the Taliban, and what it might mean for China’s economic footprint and security demands in this hard-to-monitor borderland.The focus then shifts to European Council President António Costa’s first official visit to Kazakhstan, billed as a celebration of ten years of the EU-Kazakhstan Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement. The rhetoric about strategic partnership, green corridors and critical minerals is familiar; the more concrete news is the launch of talks on Schengen visa facilitation. The conversation asks whether easier travel and more direct flights could do more for Europe’s influence in Kazakhstan than another round of investment promises.In the interview slot, Almaty-based human rights lawyer Tatiana Chernobil explains what is actually in Kazakhstan’s proposed “LGBT propaganda” amendments, and why the label itself is misleading.She describes how nine existing laws and the Code of Administrative Offences would be tightened to conflate “non-traditional sexual orientation” with paedophilia, extend fines and short jail terms to individuals and businesses, and empower rewarded “public assistants” to report supposed violations. Chernobil argues that the real target is not just LBGT visibility but information control more broadly, with a chilling effect on teachers, journalists, activists and ordinary users online, and an uncomfortable convergence between Kazakhstan’s legal trajectory, Russian pressure and a cautious, economically minded European response.LINKS* Statement from the Presidential Administration of Tajikistan on the post-attack security meeting - https://president.tj/event/news/54027* Official EU press release on António Costa’s visit to Kazakhstan - https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2025/12/04/press-statement-by-president-antonio-costa-following-his-meeting-with-president-of-kazakhstan-kassym-jomart-tokayev-in-astana/* Statement from the President of Kazakhstan’s office on the Costa visit - https://www.akorda.kz/ru/kasym-zhomart-tokaev-i-antoniu-koshta-vystupili-s-sovmestnym-zayavleniem-4114550* UN Human Rights Council statement on LGBT propaganda amendments - https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/11/kazakhstan-proposed-lgbt-propaganda-law-risks-institutionalising Get full access to Havli - A Central Asia Substack at havli.substack.com/subscribe

This episode departs from our usual format. Instead of the standard three-segment structure, it’s a single extended conversation with Agnieszka Pikulicka, the journalist behind Turan Tales, a long-form newsletter and podcast examining underreported stories from Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan. Her premise is straightforward but oddly rare: Central Asia should be treated as a region with its own internal dynamics, not as a footnote to someone else’s strategic narrative.Agnieszka lived and reported in Uzbekistan for three years, until she was declared persona non grata in 2021. Her debut non-fiction book, Nowy Uzbekistan (New Uzbekistan), a Polish-language monograph published by Czarne in 2023, dissects the politics and lived realities of the Mirziyoyev period.We discuss her recent move to Almaty, one of the few remaining workable bases for independent journalism in the region, and Turan Tales’ shift toward more ambitious audio documentaries, supported by the International Press Institute’s media innovation program. She argues that most coverage still reduces Central Asia to a handful of stock frames: pipelines, strongmen, and geopolitical anxiety. Whether that’s laziness or habit is debatable, but the effect is the same: people disappear from their own stories.We also touch on figures who feature in earlier Turan Tales episodes, including Komil Allamjonov, whose role has changed since we recorded this conversation. He has now been appointed counsellor-envoy at Uzbekistan’s embassy in Washington and representative of the Presidential Administration in the United States.LINKS:• New format Turan Tales podcast produced with support from the International Press Institute • Agnieszka’s book, Nowy Uzbekistan (New Uzbekistan) https://czarne.com.pl/katalog/ksiazki/nowy-uzbekistan• Turan Tales episode on the assassination attempt against Komil Allamjonov • Komil Allamjonov appointed counsellor-envoy in Washington https://www.gazeta.uz/en/2025/11/24/komil-allamjonov/ Get full access to Havli - A Central Asia Substack at havli.substack.com/subscribe

Kazakhstan has now adopted a dedicated law on artificial intelligence, a step the government has been signalling for more than a year. Parliament approved the measure in October, and President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev signed it into force a few days before this episode was recorded.The authorities present the legislation as a necessary foundation for developing the country’s AI sector. The stated aim is to create a clearer operating environment for businesses, attract international companies, and establish Kazakhstan as a regional leader in emerging technologies. The law follows a risk-based model similar to frameworks being developed in Europe and other jurisdictions.One notable feature is the emphasis on self-assessment and voluntary compliance mechanisms for private companies. Businesses developing or deploying AI tools are expected to evaluate risks themselves and conduct audits on their own initiative. Public debate around the legislation was limited, and many of the practical questions, such as implementation, safeguards, oversight, remain open. As the rule-making phase begins, these conversations are likely to become more prominent, especially as ministries, businesses, and civil society groups attempt to interpret how the framework will operate in practice.This week’s interview steps away from abstractions and looks at a problem that is measurable in every breath taken in Almaty. Almaty Air Initiative chief executive Zhuldyz Saulebekova explains how the city’s air-quality crisis has moved from official denial to grudging acceptance, and why the real bottleneck now is political will rather than data. Fully 200 new sensors have generated unprecedented transparency, but little of that has translated into decisive action on winter pollution sources such as coal-burning households and the expensive “last mile” connections needed to make gasification real rather than statistical.Saulebekova argues that activists have won the argument on awareness; whether they can force a shift in winter heating policy is the more consequential test.The final segment turns to Kyrgyzstan, where a wave of arrests has landed on the eve of early parliamentary elections and amid a deepening electricity crisis. Authorities may deny any political motivation, but the optics are hard to ignore: opposition figures rounded up under the familiar pretext of “preparing mass unrest” just as the country is rationing power, dimming streetlights, and cutting voltage to homes.With water levels at the Toktogul hydropower plant at historic lows, cryptocurrency blamed for excessive consumption, and neighbours scrambling to supply emergency electricity, the government is signalling zero tolerance for protest at the moment when tempers are sharpest. Whether this produces stability or merely suppresses symptoms remains unclear. Get full access to Havli - A Central Asia Substack at havli.substack.com/subscribe

A sudden flare-up in Ukraine’s drone war has again rattled Central Asia’s energy nerves. This episode opens with a look at how Russian refinery shutdowns are rippling across the region. When the Novokuybyshevsk plant went offline after an October 19 strike, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, which are both reliant on Russia for more than 90 percent of their fuel, were left scrambling. Petrol rationing in Bishkek and mounting anxiety among traders reveal just how vulnerable those supply chains remain. And with Kazakhstan freezing domestic fuel prices to contain inflation, even its neighbours can’t count on emergency help. What begins as a refinery fire in Samara ends up exposing the region’s deeper dependence on Moscow’s infrastructure.The episode’s centrepiece turns from crisis to creativity, featuring Marzhan Tajiyeva, Education Projects Coordinator at CAPS Unlock, on the launch of the Turn It Around! Central Asian Climate Cards, developed with UNESCO’s regional office. Created by young people from across six countries, the cards combine art and education to bring climate change into everyday lessons, in Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Tajik, Uzbek, Russian, and even English. Tajiyeva explains how a child’s drawing of the Aral Sea can spark empathy, critical thinking, and even policy reflection, turning students into messengers of shared responsibility. The project, part of a global initiative led by Arizona State University, now anchors a growing regional alliance for climate education.The final segment turns to football and politics. In Turkmenistan, the Asian Football Confederation has reportedly barred local clubs from hosting home games after inspectors condemned Arkadag’s flagship stadium, a supposed symbol of modernity, as unfit for play. The contrast with Almaty’s recent hosting of Real Madrid could hardly be sharper: FC Kairat’s Champions League adventure has become both a civic celebration and a study in political rehabilitation, as the club’s rise intertwines with the fortunes of its powerful backers. Even sport, it seems, can’t escape Central Asia’s habit of blending national pride with image-building and control.LINKS:CAPS Unlock statement on Turn It Around! Central Asian Climate Cards - https://capsunlock.org/news/caps-unlock-and-unesco-unveil-central-asian-climate-cards-to-bring-climate-change-into-classrooms/Fergana News report on Arkadag Stadium and AFC ban – https://fergana.agency/news/141688/Reuters reporting on Orenburg strike - https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukrainian-drones-cause-fire-russian-gas-plant-governor-says-2025-10-19/Symbol of Science journal paper portraying Arkadag FC as a showcase of Turkmenistan’s modernisation drive - https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/arkadag-fc-turkmenistans-rapid-rise-in-football Get full access to Havli - A Central Asia Substack at havli.substack.com/subscribe

This week’s episode begins in Kyrgyzstan, where a brutal killing of a 17-year-old girl has reignited public fury and led President Sadyr Japarov to call for the return of the death penalty. The case has stirred intense debate about justice, morality, and political opportunism in a country that abolished executions nearly two decades ago. We look at how Japarov’s proposal both reflects and exploits public anger, and what it means for Kyrgyzstan’s already fragile constitutional order.The discussion later shifts to Kazakhstan, where President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s recent dismissal of global climate policy as a “massive fraud” clashes with his government’s simultaneous effort to market the country as a renewable-energy hub. At the recently concluded Kazakhstan Energy Week, ministers touted new wind and solar projects even as coal expansion and data-hungry AI ambitions deepen the country’s dependence on fossil fuels. We ask whether Tokayev’s rhetoric marks a populist pivot or a pragmatic recalibration around “energy sovereignty.”Our interview guest is Maria Adele Carrai, Assistant Professor of Global Chinese Studies at NYU Shanghai and co-director of Mapping Global China, an open-data platform that visualises Beijing’s global footprint. Carrai explains how the project uses satellite imagery and datasets to track China’s infrastructure, trade, and soft-power presence, from Kazakhstan to the Arctic, while inviting local researchers to contribute new “story maps.” She also discusses why portrayals of China as either a benign partner or a looming threat both miss the point.Useful links* Mapping Global China website – https://mapglobalchina.com/* CAPS Unlock event summary of Maria Adele Carrai lecture in Almaty - https://capsunlock.org/mapping-global-china-a-new-lens-on-beijings-reach-in-central-asia/* Kabar news agency interview with President Japarov - https://www.kabar.kg/news/el-menen-keneshebiz-prezident-olum-zhazasyn-kirgizuu-demilgesi-boyuncha-kommentariy-berdi/* TV report on President Tokayev’s speech to the National Council for Science and Technology - Get full access to Havli - A Central Asia Substack at havli.substack.com/subscribe

This week’s episode of the CAPS Unlock podcast begins with Kazakhstan’s ongoing fixation on artificial intelligence. Ever since President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev made AI the centrepiece of his State of the Nation address, ministries and agencies have scrambled to demonstrate their own contributions. A new ministry has been promised, AI education standards announced, and schemes for agriculture, public administration, and even ethics frameworks unveiled. The rhetoric is upbeat: Tokayev warns that failure to embrace AI would leave Kazakhstan economically and politically marginalized. But beneath the noise lie concerns about jobs and feasibility. Officials estimate up to 1 million positions could be affected. We look at the data to ask which sectors are most exposed, how automation and AI differ, and why public sector employment makes this such a politically charged issue.Our interview segment features Asel Mussagulova, lecturer at the University of Sydney and co-author of a new paper on Kazakhstan’s policy advisory systems. She explains how state-backed research institutes, directly funded and supervised by government bodies, almost inevitably reinforce official narratives and avoid criticism. Staffing choices, internal censorship, and oversight mechanisms mean their studies often legitimise decisions already taken. Yet Mussagulova also describes how financially independent research organisations, such as the emerging generation of private think tanks, can still offer more candid advice, sometimes by engaging public opinion or leveraging international connections. The picture that emerges is less monolithic than often assumed: authoritarian regimes seek legitimacy through research, but pockets of independence persist.We close with Kyrgyzstan, where parliament has (as of September 25, following our recording) dissolved itself, one year early. Deputies argue the move will streamline election timing by avoiding back-to-back parliamentary and presidential votes, while reforms to the electoral law promise greater gender representation and easier participation for citizens abroad. But by abolishing party lists in favour of hyperlocal constituencies, the reform strengthens district-level politics at the expense of national parties. In practice, this risks leaving Kyrgyzstan with a quieter, more compliant parliament, one shaped less by vigorous debate and more by presidential authority.Links* Mussagulova & Janenova, Management and Quality of Policy Advisory Systems in Kazakhstan: The Case of Public and Private Research Organizations (Policy and Society, 2025): https://academic.oup.com/policyandsociety/advance-article/doi/10.1093/polsoc/puaf025/8236331* IMF 2023 AI Preparedness Index (DataMapper): https://www.imf.org/external/datamapper/AI_PI@AIPI/ADVEC/EME/LIC* ILO study on AI and jobs: https://www.ilo.org/sites/default/files/2025-05/WP140_web.pdf* Acemoglu & Johnson, Power and Progress: Our Thousand-Year Struggle Over Technology and Prosperity (2023): https://www.amazon.com/Power-Progress-Thousand-Year-Technology-Prosperity/dp/1399804472 Get full access to Havli - A Central Asia Substack at havli.substack.com/subscribe

This week’s episode of the CAPS Unlock podcast opens with a discussion about a show of diplomatic unity in Central Asia. Following Israel’s strike on Qatar, all five governments of the region quickly issued statements of condemnation. Some went as far as calling the strike an act of aggression. We examine why these unusually swift and aligned reactions matter, how they highlight the region’s growing ties with Gulf states, and what they reveal about Central Asia’s selective application of principles such as territorial integrity.Our interview segment features Achille Jouberton, visiting scientist at the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research, and lead author of a major new study on the glaciers of Tajikistan’s Pamirs. Long thought relatively stable compared to the shrinking ice fields of the Himalayas and Tien Shan, the Pamirs are now losing mass at troubling rates. Jouberton explains how declining snowfall since 2018, measured through field stations, pressure sensors, and climate reanalysis, is reshaping water availability in the region. He discusses the role of large-scale climate systems, the combination of less snow and hotter summers, and the downstream implications for agriculture and hydropower.We close by looking at President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s State of the Nation address in Kazakhstan. Among an eclectic mix of themes, including long passages on artificial intelligence, Tokayev floated the possibility of transforming Kazakhstan’s bicameral parliament into a single chamber. Though short on detail, the proposal hints at possible institutional re-engineering ahead of 2029, when Tokayev’s presidential mandate ends. We assess what this might mean for Kazakhstan’s political system and why even seemingly technical reforms can reshape the balance of power.Links:Snowfall decrease in recent years undermines glacier health and meltwater resources in the Northwestern Pamirs: https://www.nature.com/articles/s43247-025-02611-8Tokayev’s state of the union speech: https://www.akorda.kz/ru/poslanie-glavy-gosudarstva-kasym-zhomarta-tokaeva-narodu-kazahstana-kazahstan-v-epohu-iskusstvennogo-intellekta-aktualnye-zadachi-i-ih-resheniya-cherez-cifrovuyu-transformaciyu-885145 Get full access to Havli - A Central Asia Substack at havli.substack.com/subscribe

In the third and final instalment of podcasts recorded on the sidelines of a major history conference at Nazarbayev University, the CAPS Unlock podcast looks at how culture grows under pressure. We speak to Irina Sinepupova (a historical researcher currently pursuing her studies at Nazarbayev University) and Leora Eisenberg (PhD candidate, Harvard University) about two very different cases that expose the same paradox: culture was steered by the state, yet the results often felt vivid and genuine.Sinepupova walked us through the mechanics of Soviet literary censorship in Kazakhstan. GLAVLIT’s republican branches, she explains, were formally subordinate to Moscow but in practice leaned on local party organs. Manuscripts usually arrived “distilled” by publishing houses and writers’ unions, where criticism could be harsher than at the censorship desk. Censors looked not only for political deviations but also for “artistic quality,” an unexpected criterion written into instructions she found in archival files in Almaty. Language mattered too: a scarcity of Kazakh-language specialists created gaps, and writers often marked texts’ Kazakhness to signal origins even in Russian editions. The broader picture is one of instability and negotiation rather than a monolith: those who learned to “speak Bolshevik” could often navigate the system.Eisenberg spoke to us about Uzbek estrada, a lighter, stage-oriented popular genre that took off after Stalin. She traces why it leaned so heavily on repertoire from the “foreign East” while using European orchestration. First, heavy “big-form” European genres failed to connect with local audiences or produce enough Uzbek graduates from conservatories, so estrada served as an accessible bridge. Second, Cold War politics: Tashkent hosted Afro-Asian cultural events and film festivals, so performers who could sing Arabic, Hindi, Persian and more became cultural mediators for visiting delegations. Third, hybridity carried an ideological charge: European-style arrangements showcased Soviet modernity, while Eastern repertoires made the music legible to international audiences. Names to explore include Batyr Zakirov (notably his “Arabic Tango”), Muhabbat Shamaeva, Rano Sharipova, Stakhan Rahimov, and Elmira Urazbayeva.Together, these cases suggest that Soviet cultural life in Central Asia was less about top-down diktat than about constant bargaining among censors, unions, publishers, performers and audiences. Control set the frame; creativity filled it in surprising ways.CAPS Unlock extends immense gratitude to Professor Mikhail Akulov, Medina Kerimberdiyeva, and the Nazarbayev University student volunteers who made both the conference and this podcast possible. Get full access to Havli - A Central Asia Substack at havli.substack.com/subscribe

This week we continue a special series recorded on the sidelines of the international conference Toward New Transnational/Transimperial Histories of Central Asia: Sources, Directions, Interpretations, held at Nazarbayev University in Astana in August. This week we’re looking at what comes after the “nation-making” narrative and how historians are reframing the region through transnational and trans-imperial lenses.We speak to Adeeb Khalid (Carleton College), Adrienne Edgar (UC Santa Barbara), and Javeed Ahwar (Nazarbayev University). The conversation begins by dismantling a familiar myth that Lenin and Stalin casually drew Central Asia’s borders in late-night sessions. Instead, borders emerged from protracted bargaining between Moscow and local elites. The guests argue that while much of the nation-building story has been mapped, the field is not “finished”; it is widening to examine flows of people, ideas, and commerce that exceed state lines.Ahwar probes those written out of tidy national narratives, from Sarts to tribal identities folded into broader categories. He cautions that scholarship can unintentionally reinforce nationalism and urges more inclusive frames that acknowledge internal diversity. Edgar situates the Soviet period within a global wave of interwar nation formation, noting that nation-states might have arisen regardless, though not necessarily in the exact Soviet configuration. Khalid underscores a broader point: all nations are constructed, and in Central Asia the scaffolding is simply more visible.Where next? The guests point to two frontiers. First, reassessing transnational Soviet projects such as “friendship of peoples,” civic Sovietness, and internationalism. Second, thinking beyond the five-republic box to long-standing connections with Xinjiang, Afghanistan, and the Indian subcontinent, and to cross-pollination among major intellectual figures. The aim is a history that tracks mobility, cosmopolitanism, and overlapping imperia alongside nations.CAPS Unlock extends immense gratitude to Professor Mikhail Akulov, Medina Kerimberdiyeva, and the Nazarbayev University student volunteers who made both the conference and this podcast possible. Get full access to Havli - A Central Asia Substack at havli.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode of the CAPS Unlock podcast we temporarily step away from our usual format for the first in a short series recorded on the sidelines of the international conference, Toward New Transnational/Transimperial Histories of Central Asia: Sources, Directions, Interpretations, which took place at Nazarbayev University in Astana, Kazakhstan, on August 20–22.We speak to Roman Osharov, a DPhil candidate at the University of Oxford whose work examines how the Russian Empire produced knowledge about Central Asia in the nineteenth century; Daniel Scarborough, Associate Professor of Russian History and Religion at Nazarbayev University; and Gavin Slade, Associate Professor of Sociology at Nazarbayev University and co-lead of the Central Asia’s Gulag project.The conversation centred on the nuts and bolts of doing history from the archives. We discuss how access varies across the region; the relative ease of Kazakhstan (with longer lead times and embassy paperwork), the difficulty and unpredictability of Uzbekistan’s main historical archive in Tashkent, and the near-impossibility of working in Turkmenistan, and why professional conduct in reading rooms matters for everyone’s access. Our guests offer pragmatic advice for younger researchers: start with national libraries and home-institution holdings; learn (and use) non-Russian languages where possible; and plan for multi-month stints once you do enter archives.We also look beyond the archive. Slade explained how archaeological survey, mapping, museum studies, and oral history can “triangulate” fragmentary files on sites like Karlag (one of the largest Gulag labour camp systems in the Soviet Union, located in central Kazakhstan) yielding grounded insights into camp layouts, daily labour, and living memory in former Gulag villages. Scarborough reflects on the dominance of Russian-language materials and ways to recover Central Asian voices; Osharov describes manuscript collections and periodicals in Persian and Turkic that can rebalance the record, and the challenge of doing so while working within “Russian history” as a field.We close on the state of play: a moment of opportunity in Kazakhstan (and, to a degree, Kyrgyzstan), tempered by fragility elsewhere, and a gentle plea to researchers not to jeopardise that access.Stay tuned for more conversations from the Toward New Transnational/Transimperial Histories of Central Asia conference in coming episodes. Get full access to Havli - A Central Asia Substack at havli.substack.com/subscribe

In this week’s episode of the CAPS Unlock podcast, we break with our usual format to bring you a wide-ranging long-form conversation with Bruce Pannier, veteran Central Asia watcher and a newly minted Research Fellow at the Yorktown Institute’s Turan Research Center.Pannier reflects on three decades of reporting and analysis, from his early days gathering scraps of information in the pre-internet 1990s to today’s denser, more contested media landscape.We explore how both Central Asian regimes and audiences have changed over time, the new sophistication of state information control, and the shifting boundaries of censorship, especially in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan.We also examine how growing geopolitical autonomy, deepening partnerships with Gulf states and China, and a rising standard of living shape domestic politics.Finally, we look to the future: Will Central Asia become more technocratic, more pious, or both? And what happens when tomorrow’s leaders know both global capitalism and the Quran? It’s a candid, thoughtful exchange with someone who has seen it all. Get full access to Havli - A Central Asia Substack at havli.substack.com/subscribe

This week’s episode of the CAPS Unlock podcast takes us from the heat-blasted plains of Turkmenistan to the mineral riches of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, and then to end, back to Bishkek’s street theatre of power.We begin with a dive into the mooted trans-Afghan railway, a project once seen as fantasy that now edges closer to reality. We discuss Uzbekistan, Pakistan, and Afghanistan’s newly signed agreement to launch feasibility studies for the 700-kilometre route. Could this long-touted project finally break Uzbekistan out of its geographic deadlock, or will questions over security, financing, and the Taliban’s international status keep it grounded?In our interview segment, we speak with Roman Vakulchuk, head of the Climate and Energy Research Group at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs. Vakulchuk talks us through his new paper on the European Union’s cooperation with Central Asia on critical raw materials. Despite high-level rhetoric and investment pledges under the Global Gateway, the EU lags behind China and the U.S. in concrete deals. Vakulchuk explores why, and outlines the small, smart policy moves Brussels could make to regain ground, starting with visa reform.We close with a character study of Kamchybek Tashiyev, head of Kyrgyzstan’s security services, who once again made headlines by publicly dressing down a city official over a fenced-off plot of land. Was it law enforcement, political theatre, or both? We examine how Kyrgyz power now plays out not in parliament, but on camera, and what that says about elite dynamics across the region.Useful links:Start Slow to Go Fast? Unlocking EU–Central Asia Cooperation on Critical Materials https://library.fes.de/pdf-files/bueros/bruessel/22082.pdfThe other president of Kyrgyzstan: https://havli.substack.com/p/the-other-president-of-kyrgyzstan Get full access to Havli - A Central Asia Substack at havli.substack.com/subscribe

This week on the CAPS Unlock podcast, we explore a consolidating trend that could redefine Central Asia’s place on the map, not just as a post-Soviet periphery, but as a key connector to South Asia and beyond.But we open with a dispatch about CAPS Unlock activities Astana, where we just wrapped up a rule-of-law training for young professionals.Then, attention turns southward. First to a Russia–Uzbekistan business forum in Novosibirsk, where Russia made a play to reinsert itself into Afghan-bound trade, and then to Termez, the Uzbek city now at the heart of a regional reimagination.In our interview segment, we speak to Eldaniz Gusseinov, a Kazakh expert on regional politics and non-resident research fellow at the Haydar Aliyev Center for Eurasian Studies. Gusseinov unpacks the significance of the Termez Dialogue, a quiet but ambitious platform aimed at boosting Central–South Asian connectivity. He discusses how countries like Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan are positioning themselves as middle powers by investing in Afghan trade routes and infrastructure, even amid regional volatility and Taliban realpolitik.Finally, we examine U.S.–Kazakhstan tensions after President Donald Trump’s announcement of 25 percent tariffs on Kazakh exports. Despite what may be minimal economic impact (although this is uncertain), the move sends confused signals about Washington’s Central Asia policy, particularly after recent diplomatic overtures. We weigh the symbolism, the snub, and what Kazakhstan’s mild-mannered response reveals.Useful links:CAPS Unlock Instagram account: https://www.instagram.com/capsunlock_org/Kazakhstan reacts to Trump tariff threats: https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/kazakhstans-leader-tells-trump-that-he-hopes-compromise-new-us-tariffs-2025-07-10/Report on Uzbek-Russian business forum in Novosibirsk (Russian): https://asia24.media/news/v-novosibirske-proshel-pervyy-biznes-forum-s-uchastiem-predstaviteley-uzbekistana-i-sibiri/Op-ed on Termez Dialogue written by Uzbek government official: https://www.euronews.com/2025/05/21/termez-dialogue-in-search-of-a-new-paradigm-for-central-and-south-asian-relations Get full access to Havli - A Central Asia Substack at havli.substack.com/subscribe

This week we are looking at three very different but equally revealing stories from across Central Asia.First, we begin in Kyrgyzstan, where parliament passed a new law banning the online distribution of pornographic content. On the face of it, this may seem like a niche issue, but it speaks volumes about the evolving moral agenda of President Sadyr Japarov’s administration. Although proponents claim the law will uphold national values and protect youth, critics argue it is largely symbolic, and easily circumvented with VPNs. Later, we turn to climate change, and in particular, a sobering new World Bank report titled Unlivable: How Heat is Reshaping Cities in Europe and Central Asia. The report warns of rising death tolls, falling labour productivity, and overwhelmed healthcare systems as heat stress intensifies across the region. But it also offers hope, so long as authorities act thoughtfully through tree-planting, housing upgrades, and local governance reform. We explore what solutions are on the table and whether Central Asia’s institutions are agile enough to act on them in time.In our interview segment, we speak with Marco Beretta, president of the Italian-Kazakh Trade Association. Beretta shares insights into how Italy’s deepening commercial relationship with Kazakhstan is expanding beyond hydrocarbons. He discusses emerging investment in biofuels, sustainable aviation fuel, and small-to-medium enterprises. We also reflect on the significance of Italian PM Giorgia Meloni’s visit to Astana in May and what it revealed about European strategic interests in the so-called Middle Corridor.Suggested readingUnlivable: How Cities in Europe and Central Asia Can Survive and Thrive in a Hotter Future https://www.worldbank.org/en/region/eca/publication/unlivable-how-cities-in-europe-and-central-asia-can-survive-and-thrive-in-a-hotter-futureCentral Asia Barometer research on domestic violence and online content https://ca-barometer.org/assets/files/froala/207fb9867dee0c7a6e8f0968e4cd2acd4a16895d.pdf Get full access to Havli - A Central Asia Substack at havli.substack.com/subscribe

This week, we focus on one major theme: China’s evolving relationship with Central Asia. The episode centres on the China–Central Asia summit held last week in Astana and features an extended interview with Temur Umarov, a fellow at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center and a leading expert on China’s role in the region.We unpack what’s new and what’s not in Beijing’s outreach, from 35 percent trade growth since the last summit to Xi Jinping’s pledges of 3,000 training spots and 1.5 billion yuan in “livelihood projects.” The episode explores the deeper story behind the formal rhetoric; particularly the establishment of a China–Central Asia secretariat and the signing of a Treaty of Eternal Good-Neighbourliness.The conversation takes a critical look at how much Central Asia is shaping this agenda versus simply reacting to it. While elites increasingly articulate their own wish lists (such as Tajikistan’s call for green AI infrastructure), Umarov argues that meaningful local agency is more visible behind the scenes, including through protest dynamics and elite negotiation.We also discuss China’s soft power strategy, shifts in public attitudes, and the dangers of dependency, especially in the digital realm. As Chinese infrastructure projects gain speed across the region, questions about transparency, workforce inclusion, and long-term sovereignty loom large.In sum, this episode asks: Is Central Asia becoming a corridor, or a partner? And can it remain a free agent in a world of increasingly strategic patrons?Useful links:CAPS Unlock & Internet Society, Kazakhstan’s Internet Landscape: Understanding Threats and Opportunitieshttps://capsunlock.org/publications/kazakhstan-internet-landscape-understanding-threats-and-opportunities/Berikbol Dukeyev, How Local Realities Compelled China to Adapt Its Soft-Power Strategy in Kazakhstanhttps://carnegieendowment.org/posts/2024/09/kazakhstan-china-soft-power-adaptation?lang=enOxus Society Protest Trackerhttps://oxussociety.org/viz/protest-tracker/Odil Gafarov, Boots on the Ground: What Chinese Private Security Contractors Do in Central Asiahttps://carnegieendowment.org/posts/2024/07/china-private-security-central-asia?lang=enMinning Town (Chinese rural development drama referenced by Xi Jinping)World Bank, Country Economic Memorandum 2025: Kyrgyz Republichttps://www.worldbank.org/en/country/kyrgyzrepublic/publication/cem-2025 Get full access to Havli - A Central Asia Substack at havli.substack.com/subscribe

This week’s CAPS Unlock takes us east, to a country often left out of Central Asia’s story: Mongolia. We speak to Chimguundari Navaan-Yunden, a former advisor to the Mongolian prime minister, about her recent article exploring Mongolia’s foreign policy realignment toward Central Asia.From efforts to expand rail and trade links, to high-level diplomacy and civic vibrancy, Mongolia offers a sharp contrast to its authoritarian neighbours.And CAPS Unlock program coordinator Tlegen Kuandykov shares fresh impressions from his first visit to Mongolia and reflects on the political and cultural commonalities (and differences) that shape the Greater Central Asia debate.Links:Mongolia’s Pivot to Central Asia and the Caucasus: Strategic Realignments and Regional Implications: https://www.cacianalyst.org/publications/analytical-articles/item/13871-mongolia%E2%80%99s-pivot-to-central-asia-and-the-caucasus-strategic-realignments-and-regional-implications.htmlFreedom in the World 2025: https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2025/uphill-battle-to-safeguard-rights Get full access to Havli - A Central Asia Substack at havli.substack.com/subscribe

This week, an unusual edition of the CAPS Unlock podcast. I speak to Daniel Rosenblum, the recently retired U.S. ambassador to both Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, about his decades-long engagement with Central Asia and the future of U.S. foreign policy in the region.We begin with Rosenblum’s personal journey, shaped by his family’s early activism for Soviet Jewry, and trace his career through labour union work, U.S. foreign assistance partnerships, and ultimately diplomacy. He reflects on the enduring goals of U.S. policy in Central Asia and the tensions between supporting democratic governance and engaging in hard-headed security cooperation.We also talk about the long arc of independence in Central Asia: how countries like Kazakhstan have learned to walk a diplomatic tightrope between great powers, why Uzbekistan’s reforms remain significant despite backsliding, and whether the West sometimes judges the region too harshly. Finally, Rosenblum shares his views on the dismantling of USAID under the Trump administration and what might be lost if the U.S. abandons its development commitments. Get full access to Havli - A Central Asia Substack at havli.substack.com/subscribe

This week’s episode opens with a conversation about an intensifying environmental threat in Central Asia: sand and dust storms. A major storm hit Tashkent last week, felling trees, halting flights, and triggering dangerous air pollution levels. The discussion explores long-term drivers of this trend, from climate change and Aral Sea degradation to unchecked urban construction. We examine how countries like Uzbekistan are responding with national greening strategies, and where political will may be falling short.In a second segment, we turn to Uzbekistan’s push to become a tourism hotspot. A new presidential decree aims to attract 16 million foreign visitors by the end of 2025. The episode discusses how this is being pursued through visa liberalisation, promotion campaigns, and even new “tourist villages.” But questions remain about whether the growth model is too top-down, and whether domestic tourism can be part of the solution.This week’s interview features Callum Voge, director of Governmental Affairs and Advocacy, and Amreesh Phokeer, Internet Measurement and Data Expert, both from the Internet Society. We discuss a new report that they produced in collaboration with CAPS Unlock on Kazakhstan’s digital infrastructure and internet vulnerabilities. Topics include the country’s high telecom concentration, reliance on Russian infrastructure, surveillance capabilities such as root certificate programs, and the promise (and risks) of new routing alternatives through the Caspian and China. The guests also assess what true resilience would look like, and why decentralisation matters for both privacy and economic growth.Useful readingUNCCD: Regional Strategy for Sand and Dust Storms in Central Asia https://www.unccd.int/sites/default/files/2022-10/Regional%20strategy_SDS_%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B3%D0%BB_print.pdfBringing life back to Central Asia's desertified Aral Sea (Deutsche Welle) https://www.dw.com/en/the-aral-sea-from-lake-to-desert-to-forest/a-70987224 Get full access to Havli - A Central Asia Substack at havli.substack.com/subscribe

This week’s episode opens with a look at Kazakhstan’s oil production surge and the geopolitical and economic ramifications of the country’s deviation from OPEC+ production quotas. Despite a formal commitment to restraint, Kazakhstan reached record-breaking oil output in March and remained well above quota in May. The discussion considers whether the move reflects nervousness in Astana about slowing GDP growth and growing public discontent over inflation, as captured in a recent report by United Research Technologies Group. The report highlights a gap between official narratives and lived experience, suggesting that the government may be prioritising short-term fiscal relief through oil sales, even at the risk of undermining cartel solidarity.In a second segment, we explore a newly published academic paper, titled Bumps Along the Golden Road: Unpacking Sinophobic Sentiments in Central Asia, 2002–2023. The paper draws on protest data, survey results, and dozens of interviews to argue that anti-China sentiment has been steadily rising across the region. Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan remain focal points for street protests, while Uzbekistan’s xenophobic discourse is increasingly expressed via social media. But the episode also raises questions about how far these attitudes are generalisable, and how much they may reflect temporary surges of online outrage rather than structural geopolitical mistrust.In this week’s interview, we speak with Merete Looft, a campaigner at environmental NGO Urgewald, about Kazakhstan’s potential inclusion in the Asian Development Bank’s Energy Transition Mechanism. Looft explains how the ETM seeks to retire coal plants early in favour of renewable energy, but she warns that without stricter safeguards, it risks funnelling money to fossil fuel firms with expansionist agendas. Drawing on Urgewald’s own research and coal industry tracking tools, she outlines what activists are watching for as feasibility studies proceed, and what a truly just transition should look like.Useful links• Central Asia Barometer research on attitudes toward China - https://capsunlock.org/publications/beyond-the-silk-road-navigating-the-complexities-of-central-asias-public-opinion-on-china/• United Research Technologies Group report on economic sentiment in Kazakhstan (in Russian) - https://urtg.org/research-result/indikator-ekonomicheskih-nastroenij-kazahstana-maj-2025/• Urgewald’s critique of the ADB’s Energy Transition Mechanism - https://www.urgewald.org/sites/default/files/media-files/urgewald_ADB_ETM_Paper.pdf• Europe-Asia Studies article: Bumps Along the Belt and Road - https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09668136.2025.2486300?src=exp-la• Book: Backlash: China’s Struggle for Influence in Central Asia, by Bradley Jardine and Edward Lemon - https://www.hurstpublishers.com/book/backlash/• Gazeta.uz article about wave of anti-Chinese sentiment online - https://www.gazeta.uz/ru/2025/03/11/china-uzbekistan/ Get full access to Havli - A Central Asia Substack at havli.substack.com/subscribe