Link to article: https://eurasianet.org/great-power-jostling-in-central-asia-centering-on-uzbekistan
Lately, Uzbekistan has stood out in the eyes of global powers as having great potential in Central Asia. They’re being assessed by several powers for their natural resources, geographic advantages, and potential for great economic growth. They’ve taken advantage of this attention, reaching out to several countries to strengthen relations and propose ideas for the future. Their ties with the US have been strengthened, including a formal invitation for Trump to visit Uzbekistan from the Uzbek president. Both the EU and Russia have developed more interest in Uzbekistan, and China has had a growing presence in the country.
The development of Uzbekistan’s relations with greater powers is important for several reasons. First of all, it enriches Central Asia’s political and economic influence, and advertises the region as being more open for relations. Uzbekistan has a great bank of natural resources, including critical mineral reserves that have drawn attention to them on the global stage. The country also hosted an EU regional summit, as well as several Russian officials to participate in their trade fair, which demonstrates to other countries that they are amicable and open to new relationships.
It is likely that Uzbekistan will continue to grow their relations with several global powers, and attempt to get as many trade opportunities open to them to support their infrastructure. Russia, however, is likely to see the presence of the west or China as a threat to their traditional influence, and they could approach this by tightening their security and military ties. China, with the advantage of the BRI, will likely continue to grow their economic ties with Uzbekistan and take influence on the region. The United States can be expected to attempt to counter China and Russia’s influence on Uzbekistan, as well as being in support of their development as a country.
Many countries in Central Asia have extremely poor human rights records, which affects their relations with other countries. This is especially an issue in the West, where the majority of powers have much higher human rights scores, and don’t agree with authoritarian regimes. Another connection to what we’ve learned in class is to international law, specifically the likelihood of countries like Russia to undermine it. It is against international law to try to coerce or interfere with another country’s sovereignty, which Russia has been known to do in the past. In this specific situation, I think it would be in character for Russia to respond that way, in the interest of keeping Central Asia under their influence.