Kyrgyzstan - Regime Security and Foreign Policy.
- 1st ed.
- 1 online resource (156 pages)
- Central Asian Studies .
- Central Asian Studies .
Cover -- Half Title -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Dedication -- Table of Contents -- Acknowledgments -- List of abbreviations -- Introduction -- Significance -- Research methods -- Challenges and limitations -- Outline of the book -- 1. One world, rival theories -- Foreign policy analysis (FPA) -- Foreign policy and IR -- FPA and IR -- Conclusion -- 2. The foreign policy and regime security of weak states -- Weak states -- Regime security in weak states -- Foreign policy of weak states -- The Great Game of Central Asia -- State performance -- Rent-seeking -- Conclusion -- 3. The development of Kyrgyz foreign policy -- Kyrgyz foreign policy at a glance -- Russia, China and the USA -- 'Weathercock diplomacy' or debating multivectorism -- Kyrgyzstan adrift -- Conclusion -- 4. Military security and foreign policy -- The Kyrgyz army at a glance -- Russia and the CSTO -- China and the SCO -- The USA and NATO -- Ethnic violence in the south of Kyrgyzstan -- Internal security services -- Conclusion -- 5. Manas Air Base -- Manas Air Base: from famous to infamous -- Manas International Services (MIS) and Aalam Services Ltd (Aalam) -- Rise of Red Star and Mina -- Rise of the subcontractors -- Open secrets and closed rules: the political economy of base closure -- Rivalry from within -- Life after the revolution of April 2010 -- Conclusion -- Conclusion -- Regime security and foreign policy -- Political economy of rent-seeking and political instability -- Global anti-corruption regime as a normative aspiration -- Epilogue: Atambayev's arrival -- Index.
Kyrgyzstan is an interesting example of a relatively weak state, but one where the regime has remained intact despite the fact that its military is scrupulously neutral, rather than pro-regime, and despite ethnic conflict between Uzbeks and Kyrgyz. This book explores this apparent paradox and argues that Kyrgyzstan's foreign policy and international relationships are key to understanding the nature of the Kyrgyz state. It shows how the foreign policy links to the Manas Air Base, used by the US military, and the economic arrangements necessary for sustaining the base, combine to overshadow points of friction to ensure stable continuance of the status quo.