Publication

This paper analyzes NATO’s relationships with its five Central Asian Partnership for Peace (PfP) partners. Key insights include 1) that while Central Asian countries gained strategic importance due to NATO’s engagement with Afghanistan, their importance also diminished following the withdrawal of NATO combatant forces from the country; and 2) the withdrawal of NATO from the region and deteriorating Russia-NATO relations have influenced foreign policymaking process in Central Asian states in ways unfavorable to the West.