Central Asia is often viewed through the prism of Western geopolitical competition with Russia. But there’s much more going on than that: While promising reform and modernization, political heavyweights jockey for power. Assets and opportunities are captured by well-connected elites. Independent voices face growing repression. Meanwhile, China’s influence looms ever larger.
Kyrgyzstan offers a stark case: its security service spent years seizing businesses, nationalizing assets, and extracting "voluntary" payments — all in the name of fighting crime and corruption. Then its architect, once the country's untouchable co-ruler, was convicted and pushed out. But the apparatus he built remains intact.
This Briefing looks past the personalities to the machinery: how "anti-corruption" becomes a tool of consolidating power; the role of mineral and energy resources, the new economies of sanction circumvention — and what policymakers, finance professionals, and anyone else with an interest in this crucial region should watch for ahead.
