EU POLICY IN CENTRAL ASIA: A VORTEX OF BALANCES OR A TIGHTROPE WALKER ON THE ROPE
Keywords:
Abstract
This article is devoted to the relations between the European Union and the Central Asian republics. It discusses a number of internal and external factors that may affect the development of bilateral and multilateral relations. These factors force the European Union to pursue a balanced policy in the region. The success of the Union's policy in Central Asia depends on the stable maintenance of this balance. In this sense, the author likens the European Union to a tightrope walker performing a grand spectacle.
References
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Neil Winn & Stefan Gänzle (2022): Recalibrating EU Foreign Policy Vis-à-vis Central Asia: Towards Principled Pragmatism and Resilience, Geopolitics, DOI: 10.1080/14650045.2022.2042260: https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/184142/1/Recalibrating%20EU%20Foreign%20Policy%20Vis%20vis%20Central%20Asia%20Towards%20Principled%20Pragmatism%20and%20Resilience.pdf: Ultimately, the EU Strategy on Central Asia of 2007 has failed to “Europeanize” the domestic politics of Central Asian states that remain impervious to democracy promotion, Western human rights regimes, and shared policy discourses.
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Peyrouse, S. (2017), A Donor without Influence: The European Union in Central Asia, PONARS Eurasia Policy Memo No. 478, р.3; cited by Ana-Maria Anghelescu. European Union and Central Asia – past directions and future perspectives. CES Working Papers/ 2018 – Volume X(3) /wwww.ceswp.uaic.ro / ISSN: 2067 – 7693: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/329000578_European_Union_and_Central_Asia_-_Past_Directions_and_Future_Perspectives “The EU is a less visible actor in the region and, despite the preponderant optimist tone of the four Progress Reports (2008, 2010, 2012 and 2015), the concrete results are lacking, mainly because the objectives are too broad, while the means are to narrow”.
