Publications

This essay by Dr. S. Frederick Starr was written for the meeting of the World Society for the Study, Preservation, and Popularization of the Culture of Uzbekistan, a body that has brought together Uzbek-sourced manuscripts from all the world’s museums. It has sent teams to the US, France, Germany, Turkey, and Japan, and has vastly expanded the known body of manuscripts from Central Asia, publishing them online and in print editions of superior quality. Dr. Starr has been a trustee since its founding in 2017.

The catastrophic flooding in Dagestan and northern Azerbaijan has exposed the limits of Russian state capacity on its southern periphery at a moment when Moscow's grip on the wider Caucasus is already loosening. 

The Iran War has temporarily disrupted Caucasus-Central Asia connectivity. The United States must reassure the region that it still wishes to engage with its development.

Ever since the Trump administration returned to office last year, a major foreign policy debate has raged inside the Washington Beltway.