CPC - Caspian Policy Center

Research

AI’s New Great Game in the Caspian: Firebird Rises in Armenia and Kazakhstan

AI’s New Great Game in the Caspian: Firebird Rises in Armenia and Kazakhstan

Lilly Horrigan

06/24/2026

In Astana, the Government of Kazakhstan signed an agreement with San Francisco-b...

Tungsten and Building the West's Next Critical Mineral Supply Chain

Tungsten and Building the West's Next Critical Mineral Supply Chain

Kurtis Yan

06/24/2026

Insights from the Trans-Caspian Forum 2026...

2026 Constitutional Referendum in Kazakhstan: Reform, Continuity, and Executive Power

2026 Constitutional Referendum in Kazakhstan: Reform, Continuity, and Executive Power

The year, 2026, is shaping up to be a landmark year in Kazakhstan's political ev...

Kazakhstan’s Arbitration Victory and the Recalibration of Oil-Gas Agreements

Kazakhstan’s Arbitration Victory and the Recalibration of Oil-Gas Agreements

Significant repercussions are expected out of a recent court ruling both for Kaz...

Cutting Friction, Not Just Distance:  The Almaty Bypass and the Race to Make the Middle Corridor Competitive

Cutting Friction, Not Just Distance: The Almaty Bypass and the Race to Make the Middle Corridor Competitive

Lilly Horrigan

02/04/2026

Recent funding for the construction of the Almaty Bypass Railway is set to accel...

Kazakhstan Joins the Abraham Accords: Strategic Opportunities and Risks

Kazakhstan Joins the Abraham Accords: Strategic Opportunities and Risks

On November 6, 2025, Kazakhstan became the first country to sign up to the Abrah...

Echo of the Eurasian Steppe: The Saiga’s Unprecedented Recovery in Kazakhstan

Echo of the Eurasian Steppe: The Saiga’s Unprecedented Recovery in Kazakhstan

Kurtis Yan

11/20/2025

Known for its prehistoric appearance, the saiga antelope became an icon among th...

A Matter of Sanctions or Migration: Opposing Narratives on the Kazakh-Russian Border Slowdown

A Matter of Sanctions or Migration: Opposing Narratives on the Kazakh-Russian Border Slowdown

Lilly Horrigan

10/28/2025

Since September, kilometers-long lines of trucks have formed along the Kazakh-Ru...

Kazakhstan’s AI Ambitions and the Nuclear Power to Drive It

Kazakhstan’s AI Ambitions and the Nuclear Power to Drive It

Nigel Li

08/26/2025

Countries around the world are searching for ways to use artificial intelligence...

From Silk Road to Steel Rails:  How the Almaty Bypass Reinforces the Middle Corridor’s Strategic Promise

From Silk Road to Steel Rails: How the Almaty Bypass Reinforces the Middle Corridor’s Strategic Promise

With increased attention to the development of the Middle Corridor, infrastructu...

Beyond the Contract: What Kazakhstan’s Rosatom Deal Says About Its Foreign Policy Balancing Act

Beyond the Contract: What Kazakhstan’s Rosatom Deal Says About Its Foreign Policy Balancing Act

Berik Matebay

06/24/2025

On June 14, Kazakhstan announced the selection of Russia’s state-owned nuclear c...

As Russia Re-Stalinizes, Kazakhstan Looks Ahead

As Russia Re-Stalinizes, Kazakhstan Looks Ahead

Russia unveiled several new signs this spring of Joseph Stalin’s re-incorporatio...

Kazakhstan’s Surprise: The Impact of Trump Tariffs on Central Asia and the Caucasus

Kazakhstan’s Surprise: The Impact of Trump Tariffs on Central Asia and the Caucasus

Ali Dayar

04/07/2025

While the international community tries to position itself amidst the U.S. annou...

Recognizing the Taliban:  Central Asia and an Evolving International Stance

Recognizing the Taliban: Central Asia and an Evolving International Stance

In a major breakthrough for Kabul, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) accepted the c...

PGI: The G7’s Answer to Belt and Road?

PGI: The G7’s Answer to Belt and Road?

In July, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan hosted to a U.S. delegation aiming to enhance...

Kazakh Uranium: A Hot Prospect as U.S. Targets Russian Nuclear Fuel

Kazakh Uranium: A Hot Prospect as U.S. Targets Russian Nuclear Fuel

Charley Ward

05/11/2024

A special report as the United States moves to ban imports of enriched Russian U...

Kazakhstan’s New Nuclear Problem: Lake Balkhash

Kazakhstan’s New Nuclear Problem: Lake Balkhash

Haley Nelson

02/22/2024

Another landlocked lake in Kazakhstan is under threat. While declining water lev...

European and International Financial Institutions to Invest $10 Billion in the Middle Corridor

European and International Financial Institutions to Invest $10 Billion in the Middle Corridor

Toghrul Ali

02/01/2024

The Global Gateway Investors Forum for EU-Central Asia Transport Connectivity co...

The Middle Corridor Is Opening

The Middle Corridor Is Opening

Bruce Pannier

01/22/2024

On January 11, a train from Xian, China, arrived in Azerbaijan, having made an a...