To the vast majority of Western policymakers and laypeople alike, Central Asia is an eternal enigma and a region characterized by a litany of contradictions. It is almost irreconcilable how immense energy wealth juxtaposes so closely to abject poverty and how persistent authoritarianism so often covers up the region’s vulnerability to sectarian conflict. The perception of Central Asia as a mere transit point to four more strategically important regions (Russia, the Asia-Pacific, the Indian Sub-Continent and Middle East) has caused its influence to be routinely underestimated by great powers for centuries. Blithe indifference to Central Asia has only been intermittently …read more
Source: The Huffington Post
