Tariq Saeedi There are moments in history when events accumulate so strangely that ordinary explanations no longer suffice. We watch one development follow another with the uneasy sense that somebody, somewhere, is stirring a gigantic cauldron without knowing — or caring — what will emerge from it. Something is deeply wrong with the way the world is being governed. Not … [Read more...]
The Road to 2028: Why the Year of International Law Began Before It Was Named
Elvira Kadyrova and Liliya Zhirnova On 24 July 2026, the UN General Assembly adopted, by consensus and with 78 co-sponsors, the Turkmenistan-initiated resolution declaring 2028 the Year of International Law. Coverage of the moment, understandably, has focused on the vote itself — the number of co-sponsors, the ceremony planned for UN Headquarters, the forum proposed for … [Read more...]
Analytical Commentary: The Hormuz Strait Crisis and Its Ripples
Tariq Saeedi The Strait of Hormuz has again become the fulcrum of the US-Iran conflict, turning a corridor that normally carries close to a fifth of global oil trade into a contested chessboard. Traffic has thinned sharply since the war resumed, as Iran has struck commercial vessels, pushed ships toward a northern route through its own waters, and signaled it would levy … [Read more...]
The Caspian Is Everyone’s Responsibility
Tariq Saeedi The Middle Corridor — the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route linking western China to Europe through Central Asia, the Caspian Sea, the South Caucasus, and Türkiye — has, in the space of a few years, gone from a niche alternative to a genuine fixture of Eurasian trade planning. Container volumes have climbed sharply since 2022, new vessels are being … [Read more...]
Central Asia: The Author of Its Own Paradigm
Tariq Saeedi There is a peculiar habit in how the world writes about Central Asia. Almost every analysis, whatever its starting point, eventually drifts toward the same reference: the Great Game. It has become the default lens, the inherited grammar through which outside observers make sense of the region — a place perpetually being contested, courted, or divided by others, … [Read more...]
Inns of Empire: How the Seljuks Invented the Connectivity State
Elvira Kadyrova and Liliya Zhirnova Long before "connectivity" became a term of art in Central Asian diplomacy, the Seljuks had already built the infrastructure to prove the concept. Nine centuries before the Middle Corridor and the Trans-Caspian transit routes became fixtures of regional summitry, the Seljuk state was solving an identical problem: how do you make a … [Read more...]
To the young people of Central Asia – Choosing a Future You Can’t Yet See
Elvira Kadyrova and Liliya Zhirnova There is a question every teenager in Central Asia has been asked at least once, usually by a relative at a wedding, over a table too full of food to finish: What do you want to become? It used to be a fair question. There was an answer, and the answer meant something. Doctor. Engineer. Teacher. Diplomat. You picked a word, you followed … [Read more...]
When the Road Runs Out
Tariq Saeedi Not everyone who is struggling says so. Some of the heaviest weight is carried in silence — not out of shame, but out of pride, out of a habit of endurance passed down through generations who learned that hardship is met quietly, not announced. So this is not written for those who complain. It is written for those who don't — the ones who have tried … [Read more...]
Central Asia’s Strategic Convergence: A Region Finding Its Own Voice
Tariq Saeedi For most of the post-Soviet period, Central Asia was described in the passive voice. It was a space traversed by pipelines, contested by larger neighbors, and periodically revisited by Washington, Moscow, and Beijing whenever their own priorities required it. That description no longer fits. Over the past three years, something distinctive has been taking … [Read more...]
Central Asia’s Quiet Confidence: Forging a “New” Regional Identity in Turbulent Times
Tariq Saeedi In an era defined by great-power rivalry, supply chain disruptions, and climate upheaval, Central Asia is refusing to be a passive bystander. Once dismissed as a post-Soviet periphery or a theater for the latest “Great Game,” the region—comprising Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan—is increasingly viewing itself as a cohesive … [Read more...]
The Quiet Transformation of Central Asia
Tariq Saeedi There is a paradox at the heart of Central Asian geopolitics that rarely gets the attention it deserves. For nearly two centuries, the region was treated as an object of history rather than a subject of it — shaped by Russian imperial cartography, then Soviet planning, then the post-Cold War security frameworks of Washington and Beijing. Outside powers came, … [Read more...]
The Rise and Fall of Superpowers — Lessons from History
Tariq Saeedi There is a particular kind of confidence that comes with dominance. It is the confidence of a power that has won — militarily, economically, culturally — and has begun, almost unconsciously, to regard its position as the natural order of things. Rome had it. Britain had it. And for much of the twentieth century, the United States has had it too. History, … [Read more...]
The Silk Road Worked Because It Belonged to Everyone
Tariq Saeedi There is a growing tendency today to speak about trade corridors as instruments of strategy, influence, and competition. Maps are drawn with arrows pointing around rivals, past adversaries, and away from inconvenient neighbors. Connectivity is increasingly discussed in the language of exclusion. History offers a different lesson. What we now call the … [Read more...]
Rediscovering Ancient Threads: The Case for Closer Ties Between Central Asia and Egypt
nCa Commentary In an era of shifting global alliances and supply chain uncertainties, countries across different regions are quietly exploring partnerships that blend historical resonance with practical modern benefits. Central Asia and Egypt represent one such pairing—distant on the map, yet connected by deep currents of history, faith, and complementary interests. While … [Read more...]
Samarkand ADB Meeting Signals Shift Toward a More Connected, Strategic Asia
nCa Report The 59th Annual Meeting of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), held from 3–6 May 2026 in Samarkand, concluded with a clear message: Asia’s future lies in connectivity—across energy systems, digital networks, and supply chains. Bringing together more than 3,000–4,000 delegates from nearly 70 member countries—including finance ministers, central bank governors, … [Read more...]
The ‘Resourceful’ People: A Word Central Asia Has Always Deserved
Tariq Saeedi There are words that fall out of fashion not because they lose their meaning, but because the world grows too distracted to notice what they describe. --- Resourceful is one such word. It has quietly slipped from the vocabulary of praise — edged out by innovative, resilient, agile, a revolving door of corporate euphemisms that flatten rather than illuminate. … [Read more...]
The statecraft we never learned: forgiveness as strategy
Tariq Saeedi A case for reordering the emotional architecture of power --- "The space allotted to forgiveness and tolerance is the space denied to resentment, anger, and bravado." We were not trained for this. The academies, the war colleges, the diplomatic seminars — none of them put forgiveness on the syllabus. Deterrence, yes. Coercive bargaining, certainly. The … [Read more...]
The Question Before the Answer: Diplomacy and the Power of Words
Tariq Saeedi I once knew someone who was, simultaneously, my mentor and my tormentor. He had a habit of teaching through ambush. One afternoon, after a long stretch of silence between us, he shifted in his seat and said, almost casually, “We should not kill the horse in the afternoon.” The remark landed without context, abrupt and unsettling. I took the bait. “When … [Read more...]
Dynamic Triangular Partnership: Rethinking Diplomacy in an Unstable World
Tariq Saeedi For much of modern diplomatic history, the world has been explained through bilateral relationships. Two countries sign agreements, build pipelines, exchange goods, and manage tensions. The simplicity of this model has always been its strength—and its limitation. That world no longer exists. We now live in an era where connectivity is instantaneous, supply … [Read more...]
Neutrality: A Shield for Childhood, A Foundation for Future Generations
Tariq Saeedi Have you seen the pictures of children in a conflict zone? They haunt the conscience of every generation touched by conflict: a child's eyes, old beyond their years, reflecting a world where playgrounds have become battlegrounds and lullabies have been replaced by air raid sirens. This is not merely a tragedy of war—it is the theft of childhood itself, the … [Read more...]
Neutrality of Turkmenistan – Dynamic harmony of a living organism
A personal exploration of whether three decades of evolution have brought Turkmenistan's neutrality to a state of natural balance Tariq Saeedi Many years ago, traveling near the borders of Iran and Pakistan, I witnessed something that has stayed with me ever since—a perfect demonstration of harmony in its purest form. --- A teenage shepherd was tending his small … [Read more...]
Central Asia Gears Up for Historic C5+1 Summit with Trump: A Mix of Optimism and Caution
Tariq Saeedi As the world watches the evolving dynamics of global diplomacy, the upcoming C5+1 summit in Washington, D.C., on November 6, 2025, is generating significant buzz across Central Asia and beyond. This gathering, marking the 10th anniversary of the C5+1 format that brings together the United States and the five Central Asian republics—Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, … [Read more...]
Equality and Mutual Respect
Tariq Saeedi ‘Equality and mutual respect’ is more than a utopian concept in international relations. It is an important and useful instrument in the modern diplomacy. Where Did the Idea of Equality and Mutual Respect Between Nations Come From? The idea that all countries should be treated as equals goes back to 1648 and … [Read more...]
Central Asia and the Law of Proximity
Tariq Saeedi Have you ever noticed how you're more likely to strike up a friendship with the person sitting next to you in class or the neighbor across the street than someone halfway across the world? It's not just coincidence—it's this fascinating idea called the ‘Law of Proximity’ from social psychology. Basically, it boils down to the fact that physical closeness … [Read more...]
The Theory of Double Quagmire: Why Every War Becomes Everyone’s War
Tariq Saeedi Last month, while watching yet another news briefing about escalating tensions somewhere in the world, I found myself thinking about quicksand. Not because I'm particularly fascinated by natural hazards, but because the metaphor kept forcing itself into my mind as I listened to officials explain their "limited engagement" and "targeted objectives." We've … [Read more...]
Peace is Strength, Not Weakness
Tariq Saeedi “Peace is not about dodging a fight or waving a white flag. It’s about standing your ground, knowing your strength, and choosing not to swing,” said Mama Wanjiru. “Peace doesn’t flinch; Peace is the real strength,” she added forcefully, as she splashed a ladle of stewed vegetables on my plate of ugali. Mama Wanjiru sold home-cooked ugali, a kind of … [Read more...]
Turkmenistan’s Permanent Neutrality: An Active Philosophy for Building Trust
Expert Derya Soysal In a world increasingly shaped by geopolitical tensions and divided alliances, Turkmenistan's status of permanent neutrality stands out as a deliberate and constructive approach to diplomacy. Recently reaffirmed by the United Nations General Assembly for the third time, this unique stance is more than a foreign policy label—it is a constitutional … [Read more...]
Some connectible dots
Tariq Saeedi Here are some connectible dots: 1.Brutus says in Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar:There is a tide in the affairs of men.Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;Omitted, all the voyage of their lifeIs bound in shallows and in miseries.On such a full sea are we now afloat,And we must take the current when it serves,Or lose our ventures. 2.The … [Read more...]
Germany is economic powerhouse of Europe and a natural partner for Central Asia
Tariq Saeedi Germany is the economic powerhouse of Europe. It is the third largest economy in the world. The size of the German economy is simply impressive considering that it has always paid a heavy price for the broader cooperation in Europe. Germany also has an impeccable record of fulfilling its commitments. The roots are in the national psyche where the sense of … [Read more...]