Flexibility or Strategic Confusion? Foreign Policy of Uzbekistan

UZIN Paper 2 (2014)

Observers tend to describe Uzbekistan’s foreign policy in terms of fluctuation, pro- and anti-biases; furthermore, some have even evaluated it as flexible and maneuvering. However, the analysis of the Uzbek international behavior reveals more of a fundamental problem, namely a lack of strong understanding of national interests. As evidence of this, I can point to the considerable gap between the declared Uzbek policy principles and their actual implementation.