May 2012

Security and Development Approaches to Central Asia

The EU Compared to China and Russia

This paper compares the EU's security and development approach to Central Asia to those of China and Russia. The increased involvement of external actors in Central Asia is often characterized as a new great geopolitical game, centered on energy resources. China and Russia are the most influential external actors, while the EU has substantially increased its activity since 2007. The security and development interests of these three actors are sometimes at odds but can also overlap. The authors assess whether there is any scope for cooperation and coordination or whether the policies constitute a zero-sum geopolitical competition.

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