Central Asia-Caucasus Institute and Silk Road Studies Program

Under Viktor Orbán, Hungary’s engagement with the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) served both practical and ideological purposes. However, Prime Minister Peter Magyar has signaled a clear rhetorical break from this approach, placing Hungary’s future firmly within the European Union and rejecting Orbán’s foreign-policy symbolism. While a full retreat from the OTS is improbable, a Tisza-led government would more likely reframe Hungary’s Turkic ties in pro-European and pragmatic terms, while subjecting Orbán-era agreements and patronage networks to greater scrutiny.

Read Erlan Benedis-Grab's analysis here: https://cacianalyst.org/publications/analytical-articles/item/13981-from-soviet-pipelines-to-eurasian-energy-corridors-russian-gas-exports-to-iran-through-azerbaijan.html https://www.cacianalyst.org/publications/analytical-articles/item/13982-magyar%E2%80%99s-hungary-in-the-organization-of-turkic-states.html

Russia and Iran are moving closer to implementing a long-negotiated natural gas agreement, with Azerbaijan as the preferred transit route for Russian gas exports to Iran. The project will constitute part of the broader geopolitical and geoeconomic reconfiguration of Eurasia following the Ukraine war, in which Russia seeks to redefine its energy export routes while Iran seeks not only to reduce its domestic natural gas imbalance but also to strengthen its geoeconomic and transit position within regional energy networks.

Read Vali Kaleji's analysis here: https://cacianalyst.org/publications/analytical-articles/item/13981-from-soviet-pipelines-to-eurasian-energy-corridors-russian-gas-exports-to-iran-through-azerbaijan.html

For the future of the China–Kyrgyzstan–Uzbekistan (CKU) railway and Middle Corridor connectivity, the durability of this Caucasus terminus may matter as much as the eastern infrastructure itself.

Read Kordirjon Eshonkulov's analysis here: https://www.cacianalyst.org/publications/analytical-articles/item/13979-uzbekistans-caucasus-turn-what-mirziyoyev%E2%80%99s-tbilisi-visit-means-for-the-middle-corridor-and-the-cku-railway.html

The Afghan Taliban’s growing investment in drone technology reflects a broader global trend where actors with limited resources use affordable drone systems to challenge better-equipped opponents like Pakistan. The trajectory of the Taliban’s drone program may significantly influence the future security landscape of the region.

Read the new analysis by Umair Jamal here: https://www.cacianalyst.org/publications/analytical-articles/item/13978-the-taliban%E2%80%99s-drone-program-and-pakistan%E2%80%99s-counter-uav-challenge.html

Continuing in their orientation meetings, the Spring Fellows met with the leadership of our program partner organization, the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute and Silk Road Studies Program, and renowned scholar on their part of the world - Dr. Frederick Starr! Find more about Dr. Starr and his Institute's extensive regional research and analysis at www.silkroadstudies.org.

Russia no longer runs conflict management in the South Caucasus. Mathieu Lemoine on what Armenia's June elections change (and what they don't): the peace process with Azerbaijan, transit through Syunik, and whether Yerevan can turn its mandate into something durable

🔗 Read here: https://www.cacianalyst.org/publications/analytical-articles/item/13973-armenia-after-the-vote-democratic-legitimacy-in-a-fragmented-south-caucasus.html

Central Asia's five states agreed to integrate into the global transport network as a single region. In practice they are building rival corridors: Kazakhstan behind the Trans-Caspian route, Uzbekistan behind CASCA+, and two competing railway projects through Afghanistan. In the CACI Analyst, Nargiza Umarova argues that without a shared corridor strategy and a single coordinating body, external powers, not the region, will shape the geopolitics of Eurasian transit.

Read her analysis:

Regional Connectivity and Central Asia’s Need for a Unified Strategy By Nargiza Umarova In early June, Istanbul...

Sanctions evasion through the South Caucasus is not a story about small-time smugglers. As CACI's Laura Linderman told OC Media, the traders and drivers at the bottom of the chain only function because of what sits above them: professional enablers (lawyers, bankers, trust services, logistics firms) and the political architecture that keeps the gaps open. "Opportunist" describes the foot soldiers. "Network serving Russia's war economy" is how the system actually runs.

Read the full piece:

The South Caucasus route: how sanctioned goods still reach Russia Geography, long-standing business and personal ties, and deeply integrated trade networks are helping Russia circumvent Western sanctions.