Forums & Events
CACI FORUM: Advancing Freedom of Expression in Turkey
Tuesday, March 19, 2012
CACI FORUM
"Central Asia-Caucasus Institute"
Advancing Freedom of Expression in Turkey
CACI FORUM: Iran and the Caucasus
Thursday, March 14, 2013
CACI FORUM
"Central Asia-Caucasus Institute"
Iran and the Caucasus
Iran's expanding activities with respect to the three independent states of the Caucasus have scarcely been noticed, but warrant close attention. To what extent are these normal and simply a revival of the commercial and cultural relationships dating back centuries before the Russian Empire expanded into the region? To what extent are they, rather, the product of destabilizing ideological or geopolitical aspirations in Tehran today? And, if the latter, what are their broader implications to the region and to the world order and how should the U.S. respond?
SILK ROAD FORUM with Mr. Alex Petriashvili
Thursday, March 7, 2013
Silk Road Forum with Mr. Alex Petriashvili
State Minister Of Georgia for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration
After the 2012 October Parliamentary elections in Georgia there has been a renewed interest towards the developments in the country, priorities and goals of the new Government. In 2012 Georgia passed a litmus test by holding successful parliamentary elections that marked the first peaceful transition of power in the history of the country - another significant step towards achieving the fundamental goal of joining the European family of shared values and principles. From the very first day, the new Georgian government made it clear that Georgia’s western path was irreversible and foreign policy priorities would remain unchanged. Hereby, Georgia’s interest to normalize relations with Russia and its firm quest for European integration and Euro-Atlantic membership is not a choice of “either-or”.
CACI FORUM: Georgia: Political Power Transfer and Its International Implications
Friday, March 1, 2013
CACI FORUM
"The Central Asia-Caucasus Institute"
Georgia: Political Power Transfer and Its International Implications
Is Georgia experiencing a rotation of government, or regime change? Have the recent elections advanced or retarded institution-building and Western influence in Georgia? What lessons can be drawn for U.S. policy? To consider these issues, The Jamestown Foundation and the SAIS Central Asia–Caucasus Institute are co-hosting a panel discussion of experts from the United States and Europe.
News
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Read CACI Chairman S. Frederick Starr's recent interview on the resurgence of Imperial Russia with The American Purpose
Why Russians Support the War: Jeffrey Gedmin interviews S. Frederick Starr on the resurgence of Imperial Russia.
The American Purpose, May 23, 2023
Jeffrey Gedmin: Do we have a Putin problem or a Russia problem today?
S. Frederick Starr: We have a Putin problem because we have a Russia problem. Bluntly, the mass of Russians are passive and easily manipulated—down to the moment they aren’t. Two decades ago they made a deal with Vladimir Putin, as they have done with many of his predecessors: You give us a basic income, prospects for a better future, and a country we can take pride in, and we will give you a free hand. This is the same formula for autocracy that prevailed in Soviet times, and, before that, under the czars. The difference is that this time Russia’s leader—Putin—and his entourage have adopted a bizarre and dangerous ideology, “Eurasianism,” that empowers them to expand Russian power at will over the entire former territory of the USSR and even beyond. It is a grand and awful vision that puffs up ruler and ruled alike.
What do most Russians think of this deal? It leaves them bereft of the normal rights of citizenship but free from its day-to-day responsibilities. So instead of debating, voting, and demonstrating, Russians store up their frustrations and then release them in elemental, often destructive, and usually futile acts of rebellion. This “Russia problem” leaves the prospect of change in Russia today in the hands of alienated members of Putin’s immediate entourage, many of whom share his vision of Russia’s destiny and are anyway subject to Putin’s ample levers for control. Thus, our “Putin problem” arises from our “Russia problem.”
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CACI director Svante Cornell's interviewed on the 'John Batchelor Show' podcast regarding Turkey's 2023 presidential election
Listen to CACI director Svante Cornell's recent interview on the 'John Batchelor Show' podcast regarding Turkey's 2023 presidential election. Click here!
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New Article Series on Changing Geopolitics of Central Asia and the Caucasus
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CACI Initiative on Religion and the Secular State in Central Asia and the Caucasus
In 2016, the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute & Silk Road Studies Program launched an initiative on documenting the interrelationship of religion and the secular state in the region. This initiative departed from the fact that little systematic reserch had been undertaken on the subject thus far. While there was and remains much commentary and criticism of religious policy in the region, there was no comprehensive analysis available on the interrelationship of religion and the state in any regional state, let alone the region as a whole. The result of this initiative has been the publication of six Silk Road Papers studying the matter in regional states, with more to come. In addition, work is ongoing on a volume putting the regional situation in the context of the Muslim world as a whole.
Case Studies
Each study below can be freely downloaded in PDF format.
Azerbaijan's Formula: Secular Governance and Civil Nationhood
By Svante E. Cornell, Halil Karaveli, and Boris Ajeganov
November 2016
Religion and the Secular State in Kazakhstan
By Svante E. Cornell, S. Frederick Starr and Julian Tucker
April 2018
Religion and the Secular State in Uzbekistan
Svante E. Cornell and Jacob Zenn
June 2018
Religion and the Secular State in Kyrgyzstan
Johan Engvall
June 2020
Religion and the Secular State in Turkmenistan
Victoria Clement
June 2020Articles and Analyses
Svante E. Cornell, "Religion and the State in Central Asia," in Ilan Berman, ed., Wars of Ideas: Theology, Interpretation and Power in the Muslim World, Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2021.
Svante E. Cornell, "Central Asia: Where Did Islamic Radicalization Go?" in Religion, Conflict and Stability in the Former Soviet Union, eds. Katya Migacheva and Bryan Frederick, Arlington, VA: RAND Corporation, 2018.