Course info

In Central Asia, like in no other area, the interests of many global players are clashing. Central Asia involves the USA, Russia, China, the European Union, India, Pakistan, and Turkey. Yet, despite its significance, Central Asia is not an explosive hotspot that a fatal international conflict would be imminent. It is, thus, a perfect playground for testing political strategies, alliances, conflict management that could shape the global order of the 21^st century. Already in the 19^th century, Central Asia was the stage of the Great Game between the British and the Russian Empires that had immense repercussions on the Great Power’s balance in Europe on the eve of World War I. This class looks at Central Asia from a historical perspective and at some long-lasting factors that determine the interests of foreign powers, including (Post-)Colonialism, Eurasianism, Pan-Turkism, Islam(ism), and geopolitics. A significant portion of the seminar is devoted to recent political projects like China’s Belt and Road Initiative, Russia’s Eurasian Economic Union, the newly adjusted Central Asia strategies of both the US and the European Union.