The US and democratization in Central Asia. The impact of 9/11 and call for change

Yasmin Masood

Working Papers - Programa CEI & Países Bálticos from Argentine Center of International Studies

Abstract: In its war on terror, the US president George W. Bush called upon the nations saying, "you are either with us or against us". This signal was differently received in the world: some with fear, some with anger and some saw in it an opportunity to benefit from the cooperation politically and economically. Central Asian states facing numerous challenges to their post-Soviet independence belong to the third category. These states chose to be "with" the US and made an offer to help anti-terror coalitions campaign in Afghanistan hoping to gain economic aid and political support in return. This cooperation, however, is a complicated and a controversial issue since none of the Central Asian states is democratic. The human rights record of the region remains to be poor and governments are continuously criticized for not ameliorating the situation. The essence of Central Asian regimes makes many scholars argue that the US shortterm interest in cooperating with authoritarianism should not transform into a longterm strategy, as the US support of autocratic regimes contributes to the growth of radical ideas among the Muslim population of Central Asia.

Keywords: central asia; war on terror; democratization (search for similar items in EconPapers)
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