CPC - Caspian Policy Center

Research

Iran Shockwaves Reverberate across the Caspian

Iran Shockwaves Reverberate across the Caspian

When U.S. and Israeli forces struck Iran on February 28 the shockwaves reached ...

Trade Routes Under Fire: Afghan–Pakistani Conflict Reshapes Central Asia’s Security and Economic Outlook

Trade Routes Under Fire: Afghan–Pakistani Conflict Reshapes Central Asia’s Security and Economic Outlook

Lilly Horrigan

02/24/2026

Rising tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan have resulted in dozens of deat...

Board of Peace: Caspian States at the Inaugural Meeting

Board of Peace: Caspian States at the Inaugural Meeting

Jack Halsey

02/20/2026

Since U.S. President Donald Trump’s return to office, Caspian states have been s...

Kazakhstan Joins the Abraham Accords: Strategic Opportunities and Risks

Kazakhstan Joins the Abraham Accords: Strategic Opportunities and Risks

On November 6, 2025, Kazakhstan became the first country to sign up to the Abrah...

Trans-Caspian Security Trends in 2025: A Year of Regionalism, Evolution, and De-Escalation

Trans-Caspian Security Trends in 2025: A Year of Regionalism, Evolution, and De-Escalation

In 2025, Washington’s South Caucasus and Central Asian partners continued to eng...

Corridors of Peace: How U.S. Strategy in the South Caucasus Can Rewire Eurasia

Corridors of Peace: How U.S. Strategy in the South Caucasus Can Rewire Eurasia

The peace agreement initialed at the White House between Armenia and Azerbaijan ...

C5+1 Turns 10: From Dialogue to Deals

C5+1 Turns 10: From Dialogue to Deals

All five Central Asian presidents arrived in Washington, D.C., this week for the...

C5 +1 Highlights

C5 +1 Highlights

Kazakhstan’s National Bank and Visa signed a Memorandum of Cooperation ......

Ten-Year Anniversary: Looking Back at the C5+1

Ten-Year Anniversary: Looking Back at the C5+1

Kurtis Yan

11/06/2025

Central Asia has successfully garnered the interest of U.S. President Donald Tru...

Not Russia’s Backyard, Not China’s Quarry: Why this Week’s White House Summit with Central Asia is Critical

Not Russia’s Backyard, Not China’s Quarry: Why this Week’s White House Summit with Central Asia is Critical

For three decades after the Soviet collapse, the countries of Central Asia and t...

Hopes and Hurdles: Takeaways from the OTS Summit in Gabala

Hopes and Hurdles: Takeaways from the OTS Summit in Gabala

Once again, Türk dünyası demonstrated its growing geopolitical significance. Thi...

Moving Peace from Paper to Practice: A First Step for Armenia and Azerbaijan

Moving Peace from Paper to Practice: A First Step for Armenia and Azerbaijan

Taking a quiet but historic step, Azerbaijan lifted long-standing transit restri...

A Refining Play: Russian Volatility and Central Asian Fuel Security

A Refining Play: Russian Volatility and Central Asian Fuel Security

Ukrainian drones struck the Ryazan oil refinery as well as an oil depot in occup...

Code of the Steppe: Tajikistan’s Push to Shape AI in Central Asia

Code of the Steppe: Tajikistan’s Push to Shape AI in Central Asia

As Central Asia looks to Artificial Intelligence (AI) to lead its digital transi...

Russia’s Taliban Recognition: What It Means for Central Asia

Russia’s Taliban Recognition: What It Means for Central Asia

Speaking in early July, the Taliban-installed Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan ...

Azerbaijan hosts the 17th Economic Cooperation Organization Summit

Azerbaijan hosts the 17th Economic Cooperation Organization Summit

Nigel Li

07/10/2025

On July 4, the 17th Summit of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) ......

The Peace That Threatens Moscow: Armenia and Azerbaijan Leave Russia Behind

The Peace That Threatens Moscow: Armenia and Azerbaijan Leave Russia Behind

Once manageable, even cooperative at times, the relationship between Moscow and ...

Summitry and Strategy: Decoding the 2nd Central Asia-China Summit

Summitry and Strategy: Decoding the 2nd Central Asia-China Summit

Jack Halsey

07/07/2025

Chinese investments in Central Asia are here, and they are going to increase ......

Israel-Iran War Puts Spotlight on Azerbaijan’s Strategic Importance

Israel-Iran War Puts Spotlight on Azerbaijan’s Strategic Importance

Nigel Li

06/23/2025

Azerbaijan has called for Israel to avoid military strikes on Azeri populated re...

Baku’s Power Play: Why Azerbaijan Is Doubling Down on Oil and Diversifying into Solar

Baku’s Power Play: Why Azerbaijan Is Doubling Down on Oil and Diversifying into Solar

Azerbaijan, a major natural gas exporter, is taking significant steps to diversi...