[Discussion] PUBL.- Martha Brill Olcott, Central Asia's Second Chance

[gonul@pultar.org]

From: Jennifer Linker <jlinker@carnegieendowment.org>

PUBL.- Martha Brill Olcott, Central Asia's Second Chance

Central Asia's Second Chance
By Martha Brill Olcott
August 2005, 395 pp. / $24.95 / paper: 0-87003-217-8
Published by Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Squandered "Second Chance" for Central Asia Region,
Expert Author's Bold Analysis on Failed Leadership, Escalating Security Risks,
and Post-Soviet Corruption

The first decade of Central Asian independence was disappointing for those who
envisioned a transition from Soviet republics to independent states with market
economies and democratic political systems. To date, Soviet-era leaders in the
region have been more interested in exploiting state resources and controlling
their populations than implementing political and economic reforms. In her new
book Central Asia's Second Chance, Martha Brill Olcott, senior associate at the
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, writes an elucidative and detailed
analysis, warning that the prospect of new failed states developing in Central
Asia is greater today than before 9/11.

This highly anticipated, resource-rich book offers a concise review of each
country in Central Asia and how, "In the aftermath of 9/11, there really was an
opportunity to reshape the trajectory of development in this part of the world.
But neither the Central Asian states nor the international community has made
good use of this 'second chance.'" As the world increasingly views Central Asia
as critical to the war on terror and for oil reserves, Olcott makes a reliable
contribution to our knowledge of a vitally important region still unfamiliar
even to many foreign policy specialists.

Olcott highlights the deep contradiction running through U.S. policy toward
Central Asia, where partnerships with antidemocratic regimes create long-term
security risks, and faults the international community for its complicity and
lack of effective engagement in the region. As recent events in Uzbekistan and
Kyrgyzstan demonstrate, tensions in the region lie close to the surface­if we
are to prevent these states from descending into chaos, the international
community must identify solutions to the economic, political, and social
challenges confronting them.

Visit www.CarnegieEndowment.org/CentralAsia for free excerpts and ordering
information.

Author bio:

http://www.carnegieendowment.org/experts/index.cfm?fa=expert_view&expert_id#
&prog=zru

Martha Brill Olcott, author of Kazakhstan: Unfulfilled Promise, specializes in
Central Asian and Caspian affairs. She has followed interethnic relations in
Russia and the former Soviet states for more than twenty-five years and has
traveled extensively throughout Central Asia. Olcott has her PhD in political
science from the University of Chicago and is professor emerita at Colgate
University.

Table of Contents:

1) After September 11, An Unexpected Chance
2) Central Asia Play: The First Ten Years of Independence
3) The Geopolitics of Central Asia prior to September 11
4) Meeting Social and Economic Burdens
5) Failures of Political Institution Building Create the Challenge of Succession
6) Changing Geopolitics: Less Has Changed than One Might Think
7) What to Expect from the Future: Dealing with Common Problems

Appendixes:

1) Basic Information by Country
2) Key Economic Indicators
3) Key Social Indicators
4) Multilateral Assistance
5) U.S. Government Assistance Before and After 9/11
6) Freedom Support Act Funding, 1992-2003
7) Economic Growth, 1990-2002
8) Major Joint Venture Projects
9) Energy Production
10) Freedom House Democracy Indicators
11) Combating the Flow of Drugs
12) Key Political Parties
13) Islamic Organizations
14) Major Cities­Old and New Names

Notes
Bibliography
Index

For more information contact: Jennifer Linker, 202/939-2372,
jlinker@CarnegieEndowment.org




Distrib. by: Central-Eurasia-L - Announcement List for Central Eurasian Studies