The Now Less than Great Game: Extending Western Influence into Central Asia

https://www.euractiv.com/section/central-asia/news/kazakh-expert-central-asia-needs-a-transnational-electricity-grid/

Investment is always viewed through the lens of economic legitimacy – both as a means and an end. But it also needs to be understood that a flood of money invariably generates corruption.

The essential infrastructure being promoted by elements within the Kazakh Establishment will bind Central Asia to the West and that's the goal for both Western political and business operatives and the remaining Western-allied Mandarins within the circles of Central Asia's elite.

In addition to the story concerning an electric grid, there are also rumblings of an EU-sponsored Trans-Caspian gas pipeline connecting Turkmenistan to Europe.

All of these infrastructure projects are Western attempts to counter China and its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). These threads keep doors open and while the West is shut out of many Central Asian markets and geopolitical prospects, the money buys a lot.

And there are those in Central Asia that are being cautious and prudent. A minority of elites are pro-West but many others simply want to hedge their bets and engage in a little bit of triangulation before they are completely subsumed by the interests of Moscow and Beijing.

There is always a danger of becoming a battleground but at this point the West has little in the way of serious prospects in the region – a point further emphasized by the US withdrawal from Afghanistan.

And so in light of this reality, there are those politicians and businessmen that see this as a good time to turn to the West – to benefit from a bidding war, allow the great powers to court them, and to avoid becoming part of an insoluble bloc. Once again Europe provides an attractive Western option as it does not involve the United States – and thus is less threatening to the likes of China. The same could have been said for Russia up until 2022 and the now proxy war between Moscow and NATO.

And as the article linked below indicates, the media is also trying to make inroads – its role as an alternative voice will be important in the coming years. The fact that the Moscow-leaning Uzbek government would facilitate Italian media gaining influence is interesting and telling. One wonders if Italy was specifically selected given its almost peripheral status within the EU? It's hard to say, but interesting.

See also:

https://www.ansa.it/english/news/business/2023/06/21/ansa-and-uzbekistan-agency-uza-form-new-partnership_0d65f38d-1e9f-4e41-abd8-c4b4a2976125.html