The Central Asia-Caucasus Institute at SAIS, Johns Hopkins University, invites you to:

“Russia: Central Asia’s Near Abroad”

Featuring Mr. Paul Goble

Wednesday, 25 February 2009
5-7 PM
The Rome Auditorium, Rome Building
1619 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20036

Event Summary

The Central Asia Caucasus Institute (CACI) at SAIS hosted a forum on Wednesday, February 25, 2009, in the ROME building.
The forum featured Mr. Paul Goble, Director of Research and Publications, Azerbaijan Diplomatic Academy. Professor S. Frederick Starr, Chairman of the Institute, introduced Dr. Goble to the audience.

A popular but misleading cliché of the 1990s is that Central Asia is “Russia’s backyard.” Dr. Goble’s presentation turned this argument on its head, arguing that Central Asia is equally legitimized to use the concept of “near abroad” towards Russia. Mr. Goble opened his presentation by explaining the use of this concept, how it relates to political geography, and how the geography is “different today.”

Since independence in 1991, the Central Asian states have consolidated their statehood and are today sovereign and independent states in contrast to Russia which is becoming increasingly “fragmented”. Thus with the mass migration of Central Asian labor to Russia, the growing Muslim population in Russia, and the Central Asians’ ability to extract ever higher prices for their raw materials, it is tempting to ask whether Russia is in some sense becoming “Central Asia’s backyard”.

In particular, Mr. Goble noted how 12 million Central Asian migrant workers today reside in Russia and how the Russian army will be constituent mainly of non-Russians and Central Asians within the next decade. This has led to an ethnicization of Russian policies and a substantial influence of Central Asia on these policies.

Finally, Mr. Goble discussed the prospects of regional cooperation in Central Asia and its poor record to date. However, according to him, the consequences of the environmental disaster in the Aral Sea will unavoidably require regional cooperation within the next decade which may spill-over into other sectors and spur Central Asian unity.

The Central Asia-Caucasus Institute is the primary institution in the United States for the study of the Caucasus, Central Asia and the Caspian Region. The Institute, affiliated with Johns Hopkins University-SAIS, forms part of a Joint Center with the Silk Road Studies Program, affiliated with the Stockholm-based Institute for Security and Development Policy. Additional information about the Joint Center, as well as its several publications series, is available at www.silkroadstudies.org