“The security matrix of central asia: the next challenge for europe`s foreign policy”

Please join REEES for a presentation followed by a discussion of the topic “The Security Matrix of Central Asia: the Next Challenge for Europe’s Foreign Policy” by Zabikhulla S. Saipov, an academic and former diplomat of Uzbekistan currently on a sabbatical post-doctoral stay at the REEES, moderated by Professor Thomas Kruessmann, Director of Russian, Eastern European and Eurasian Studies Center University of Graz.

Originally dubbed as mission impossible, the EU-Central Asian relations at least for a decade considered to be as a dialogue of the deaf. The EU adopted its popular Central Asia Strategy for a New Partnership only in 2007 - 15 years past the countries declared their independence - quite late comer after major players in the region like China, Russia and the US. Nevertheless it proclaimed ambitious projects to deal with all issues starting education, energy, environment, investment, trade to transport worth of billions of dollars. However recent exacerbating threats emanating from South Asia and the Middle East as well as cumbersome mechanism within EU’s own common foreign and security policy procedures forced all parties concerned to switch the focus from human rights, rule of law, good governance and democracy to cooperation in tackling common security challenges like border security, drug trafficking and religious extremism. In this presentation our guest lecturer will try to put forward an evolving security matrix of Central Asia through lenses of which EU might wish to look at developments in the region.