1. Introduction -- 2. Setting the scene: Central Asia and the Caucasus, 1991-2016 -- 3. Western activity and achievements in the Caucasus and Central Asia -- 4. A deeper look: shortcomings of Western policy -- 5. Structural problems and their solutions -- 6. Updating and upgrading strategic assumptions and practices -- 7. The way ahead.
Summary:
In this book, two leading experts on Central Asia and the Caucasus argue that American and European policies toward teh region suffer from both conceptual and structural impediments. They trace the framework of Western policies to the 1975 Helsinki Final Act, which resulted in the stove piping of relations into political, economic, and democracy categories--and in often uncoordinated or contradictory policies. While S. Frederick Starr and Svante E. Cornell embrace the goal of promoting human rights and democracy, they argue that the antagonistic methods adopted to advance this goal have proven counterproductive. They propose that Western governments work with the regional states rather than on or against them, and instead of focusing directly on political systems, policies should focus on developing the quality of governance and help build institutions that will be building blocks of the rule of law and democracy in the long term. The Long Game on the Silk Road stresses the importance of a region where the development and preservation of secular statehood could become a model for the entire Muslim world--back cover.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.