ABSTRACT

Western scholarship on the foreign policies of the post-Soviet Central Asian states has consistently framed the region as marginalized but ripe for Great Power influence and poised to assume a more important role in world affairs. This article explores the analytical assumptions, institutional agendas, and geopolitical drivers of scholarly and policy portrayals of Central Asia, emphasizing the key role played by the Western military intervention in Afghanistan in 2001 and the region’s supporting role as logistics providers and security partners. The ensuing local and regional reactions to this intensifying securitization prompted International Relations scholars to explore the limits of Western governance and the liberal international order in Central Asia and highlight the rise of new counter-ordering norms, organizations and networks. This body of work has made important contributions to the now growing literature on post-Western International Relations, but still excludes the voices of many Central Asian scholars themselves and overlooks important regional topics and new analytical approaches.

摘要

西方关于后苏联中亚国家外交政策的学术研究一直认为该地区处于边缘化状态，但大国影响的时机已经成熟，并准备在世界事务中扮演更重要的角色。本文探讨了中亚学术和政策描述的分析假设、制度议程和地缘政治驱动因素，强调了 2001 年西方军事干预阿富汗所发挥的关键作用，以及该地区作为后勤供应商和安全合作伙伴的支持作用。随后对这种日益加剧的证券化的地方和区域反应促使国际关系学者探索西方治理和中亚自由国际秩序的局限性，并强调新的反秩序规范、组织和网络的兴起。