The Importance of Central Asia in the Eurasian Geo-economics
In order to transform Eurasia's development potential as a single region into a reality, various economic and
security issues need to be resolved. The geoeconomic issues facing the zone are very complex. Edward Luttwak,
creator of the term “geoeconomics”, handled this concept as a phenomenon based on “conflict logic” in the
famous 1990 article, but structured it in the framework of "grammar of trade"[3]. In other words, the issue is
mainly political actors defending their own strategies and trying to use all available means, including economic
projects, not just traditional means such as war and diplomacy, to reach their goals. Investment, trade zones, roads
and pipelines - these are not just controversial issues, but also tools of action.
Nonetheless, most players in Central Asia can be identified with one of five main categories - integration and
trade regimes, transport and logistics, oil and gas transmission lines, security structures and the internal stability of
Central Asian countries. These are the areas that will determine the future development of Central Asia and the
opportunity to make Eurasia a truly integrated and related region. Given that this framework and many regional
and global actors are the focus of attention, the center of Eurasia is also the spine of the continent. The real
question about the Eurasian geoeconomics is whether it is possible to reconcile the economic interests of the
countries around Eurasia which constitute the majority of the global economy to the geographical center of the
continent. Then it is possible to transform existing geopolitical conflicts into geoeconomic development that will
serve everyone's interests.
Central Asia is, in fact, the most important center for the development of Eurasia, given that such a
development carries with it the potential to solve all serious problems. If development and economic progress in
Eurasia allows for the establishment of economic co-operation around the region - and introduces new
opportunities in terms of the development of the world economy - it will allow the existing conflicts to be resolved
or, at least, greatly weakened. For example, the economic development of the North-South cooperation can help
stabilize Afghanistan. In fact, Central Eurasia can play a key role in opening a new era of economic development,
thus stabilizing Eurasia.
The modern form of Central Asian geopolitics has evolved since the collapse of the USSR. But the main parts
of the geopolitical discovery - the conflict between the US and Iran, for example, and the Afghanistan issue - were
actually shaped during the last decade of the Cold War. Nevertheless, it is indisputable that the main cause of the
increase in Eurasia's geopolitical significance is the collapse of the USSR. In this context, the change of the
international conjuncture with the end of the Cold War, in other words, the rise of the Cold War equilibrium based
on the bipolar structure, the emergence of large geopolitical and geo-economic spaces of space spreading north-
south transition and connection roads of the Rimland- Caused. The emergence of new independent states in
Central Asia, however, has increased the number of independent actors targeting their own interests [4].
It was only a matter of time before the start of geopolitical competition for America's strong interests over the
newly independent former Soviet Republics, as well as for the larger countries such as Russia and China to be
influential in the region. However, the Central Asian region has not become a geopolitical struggle. In the first
years following the collapse of the USSR, the US and Russia showed little interest in the region. China did not
seem too interested. We can list the reasons for this in the following way:
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