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This study analyzes empirical research on the relationship between the content of negotiated civil war peace agreements and the subsequent duration of peace. It focuses specifically upon quantitative studies that apply statistical techniques to analyze databases containing decades of civil war peace agreements. 

Kazakhstan is a linchpin for trade and transport links on the Eurasian continent – for China’s “Belt and Road Initiative” (BRI) and beyond – due to its location, vast landmass and energy reserves. It is both the object and the subject of Chinese, Russian and Western geopolitical interests. In this CSS Analysis, Benno Zogg argues that the Kazakhstani case shows that the shape and success of the BRI largely depend on internal, not external, factors.

Historically, the United States has been wary of initiatives designed to bolster Europe’s strategic autonomy; even now, the Trump administration is working to undermine it. Yet, in the long run, European strategic autonomy could form an indispensable component of a constructive transatlantic relationship.