Central Asia and the South Caucasus: Toward a New Model of American Presence in the Region
This article addresses U. S. foreign policy strategy toward Central Asia and the South Caucasus after the withdrawal of NATO forces from Afghanistan. As practice has shown, the presence of a NATO military contingent is often not conducive to the establishment of stability and security; in fact, in some cases it becomes a factor in the destabilization of internal political processes and raises concerns among neighboring countries - which has a direct impact on the nature of interstate cooperation and con tributes to militarization. The decision of the military-political leadership of the United States to revise its system of armed forces basing abroad and to shift its focus to the Asia-Paciﬁc region while maintaining inﬂuence in Central Asia and Transcaucasia will entail changing the model of the U. S. presence in the Caspian-Central Asian region. NATO is seeking to construct a new identity in the changed conditions of international relations, which requires both a thorough conceptualization and the coordinated action of other global players.