The Yale Center for the Study of Globalization will host its first major international conference, "The Silk Road in the 21st Century -- Security and Insecurity in Central Asia and the Caucasus: A Regional Challenge with Global Implications," on Thursday-Saturday, Sept. 19-21.
The conference will focus on the competition and conflict within the eight states of Central Asia and the Caucasus that gained their independence from the Soviet Union just over a decade ago: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
"The societies, economies, political systems and security establishments of the many ethnic groups that inhabit these countries have long been, and continue to be, interconnected," write the conference organizers.
If the countries can resolve their differences and work cooperatively "it will augur well for South Asia, East Asia, Africa and the Middle East," add the conference organizers. "If, however, the Central Asia/Caucasus region continues to suffer from conflict, instability, repression and interstate rivalries and machinations, it will not only be a danger zone in its own right but a breeding ground for the spread of those disruptive forces elsewhere."
Highlights of the conference will include a live video link with President Eduard Shevardnadze of the Republic of Georgia; an address by Ahmed Rashid, author of the book "Jihad: The Rise of Militant Islam in Central Asia," published by the Yale University Press; a discussion between the minister of foreign affairs of Armenia and Strobe Talbott, former director of the Yale Center for the Study of Globalization, on the challenge of peace in the Caucasus; and a talk on "U.S. Interests in Central Asia and the Caucasus" by the U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state responsible for the region. There will also be panels exploring such issues as geopolitics and regional interests of the Central Asia/Caucasus countries; areas of future cooperation or conflict; narcotics and crime; Islamic movements; and sources of conflict and instability in the region.
The conference -- which was organized by the Yale Center for the Study of Globalization in partnership with the Dayan and Jaffe Centers of Tel Aviv University and the Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation -- will be held in the Law School's Levinson Auditorium, 127 Wall St. It is free and open to the public. The complete conference agenda is available at www.ycsg.yale.edu.
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