Central Asia as a geo-strategic region in the modern geopolitical confrontation

Abstract

The work reveals the geopolitical dynamics in Central Asia, the states of which, since gaining independence, have become a geostrategic factor in international relations. The countries of the region - Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan are located in the center of Eurasia and are a kind of "buffer zone" between East and West. They have significant energy and raw material potential and play the role of a transport corridor between the countries of East and Southeast Asia and the EU. Central Asia is a region of strategic importance for global international players, each of which seeks to create its own sphere of influence there. The subject of the research is the state of geopolitical rivalry in Central Asia at the present stage. The purpose of the publication is to trace the transformation of the foreign policy strategies of key international players (China, Russia, the USA, the EU and Turkey) in the Central Asian region, to present scenarios for the development of the region in the context of global geopolitical confrontation. Methods of general scientific analysis and international political research were used: geopolitical, historical and comparative, discourse analysis, analytical and prognostic, etc. The work is based on the theory of structural realism, the fundamental principles of the theory of regional security complexes (B. Buzan, O. Wever), in within which the international region acts as a universal category for considering contemporary international relations. It is concluded that the countries of Central Asia have left the monopoly sphere of Moscow's geopolitical influence and have become a vector of China's strategic influence. The Russian military invasion of Ukraine is said to have posed a threat to regional security and raised concerns among the political elites of Central Asia. Blocking the export of Kazakh oil to Europe as part of Russia's energy war against the EU requires new ways of supplying energy resources bypassing the Kremlin. This will create a unique opportunity for the US and EU to strengthen their involvement in the region, which will curb the revisionist aspirations of Moscow and Beijing and help promote democracy in the region.