Analysis Podcast
News and expert analysis from the region, hosted by Bruce Pannier and Michael Hilliard.
Spotlight on Central Asia is the Oxus Society's podcast offering news coverage and expert analysis of current events in the region. Each episode brings together specialists and practitioners to discuss the most pressing issues facing Central Asia.
44 episodes · Showing latest 20
This week, we examine a series of major developments across Central Asia, from the results of Kazakhstan's constitutional referendum to the announcement of new Chinese-funded border outposts and fortifications along Tajikistan's frontier. We also look at the continuing fallout from the security...
This week, we examine a series of major developments across the region, from unusual trade figures linking Afghanistan and Central Asia, to the expansion of border fencing and fortifications between two Central Asian states. We also look at the arrest of one country's anti-corruption chief on...
This week, we'll be covering Kazakhstan announcing the date for its upcoming constitutional referendum, controversial polling decisions in Kazakhstan, a new fighting force forming that could make the Tajikistan–Afghanistan border even more volatile, one leader returning from an unexplained absence...
This week, we'll be covering the B5+1 summit in Bishkek, the prospect of new EU sanctions targeting Kyrgyzstan, fresh complications around Rosatom's nuclear plans in Uzbekistan, shake-ups inside Uzbekistan's internal security services, and some genuinely surprising new drug-use statistics coming...
This week, we're tracking a string of developments that could reshape the region's security and political landscape, from a soldier's death in Kazakhstan triggering major shake-ups at the top of the military chain of command, to Russian TV hosts openly talking about invading Central Asia, and...
This week, we're taking a look at crackdowns on the Uzbek language in northern Afghanistan, a U.S. drone going down in Afghanistan, and the latest political aftershocks in Kyrgyzstan after a former president was stripped of state titles and honours. We'll then turn back to Washington, where new...
This week, we're tracking a packed slate of stories across Central Asia, starting with Trump's invitations for Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan to join the G20, while the rest of the region is left out in the cold. We'll also break down Washington's shift in visa rules for one of the Central Asian...
This week, we're unpacking Turkmenistan's Neutrality Summit, a rare moment where a string of big names quietly rolled into Ashgabat, and where the public messaging mattered just as much as the backroom deals. We'll also cut through the noise on the latest reporting from the Tajik–Afghan border...
This week, we break down a flurry of developments reshaping Central Asia's security landscape, from the debut of the new C6 format and the surprise expansion of the once-exclusive C5 grouping, to Vladimir Putin's key trip to Bishkek for the CSTO summit. We examine the alarming collapse in...
This week, we unpack how the C5+1 summit in Washington could reshape Central Asia's security and economic architecture, cutting through the new trade deals and MoUs to gauge their real-world impact. We assess Tokayev's trip to Moscow and what it signals, the Moscow arrest of a major Turkmen power...
This week, we explore how the upcoming C5+1 summit in Washington could reshape Central Asia's political and security landscape. We'll look at Kyrgyzstan's crackdown on independent media ahead of national elections, renewed clashes between Tajik and Afghan border forces, and Kazakhstan's security...
This week, we explore how the upcoming C5+1 summit in Washington could reshape Central Asia's political and security landscape. We'll look at Kyrgyzstan's crackdown on independent media ahead of national elections, renewed clashes between Tajik and Afghan border forces, and Kazakhstan's security...
Spotlight on Central Asia returns with a brand new season and a closer look at the stories shaping the region. This week, we unpack Kyrgyzstan's snap election announcement and its controversial debate over reinstating the death penalty, major electoral reforms in Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan's latest...
This week we take a look at: - Kazakhstan seizing part of the Russian Space Program - Bank reforms in Kyrgyzstan - A Russian governor seeking refuge in Kyrgyzstan - Mirzioyev announcing a referendum - Earthquakes in Tajikistan - A football tournament coming to Central Asia - Turkmenistan announces...
This week we take a look at: - Sec. Blinken's Visit to Central Asia - Parliamentary Elections in Kazakhstan heating up - Kazakhstan's backing of Beijing's "Ukraine Peace Plan" - The women's marches - Constitutional amendments being proposed in Uzbekistan - The son of a Tajik opposition leader being...
This week we take a look at: - Nazarbayev being stripped of his immunity - A sanctioned Russian businessman buying up a Kazakh airport - The fight to bring a bank back to Kazakhstan - A Kyrgyz president being released from prison - 6 Kyrgyz presidents meeting in Dubai - Uzbekistan resuming work on...
This week we take a look at: - Major policy changes at the Kazakh border. - Russia forging ahead with plans for a gas network across the region. - Astana refusing to punish journalists over their coverage of the War in Ukraine. - Border delimitation progress between Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. -...
This week we take a look at a political party being registered in Kazakhstan, politicians pushing back against name changes for Bishkeks administrative districts, a former president's trial devolving, the proposal for a natural gas union between three states, trials beginning for anti-regime...
This week we take a look at a former Security Services Cheif of Kazakhstan on trial for treason, Russian pressure on Astana to lower the price of grain, Kyrgyzstan cracking down on the free press, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan approving a huge water deal, China stepping up its military coordination...
This week we take a look at the row between Kazakhstan and Russia over Ukraine, a new report warning of water problems for the region, a significant shake-up in the Kyrgyz cabinet, a new border deal signed between Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, the cancelling of major Kyrgyz military exercises, a...
