Uzbekistan's Foreign Policy: The Pendulum Diplomacy between the US and Russia

Abstract

Rigorózní práce analyzuje formování uzbecké zahraniční politiky od roku 1991. Taškentský rozhodovací proces v zahraniční politice byl podle ní v největší míře ovlivněn vztahem mezi Uzbekistánem, Ruskem a Spojenými státy. Režim Islama Karimova se snažil udržet svoji nezávislost a status regionálního lídra ve Střední Asii. To bylo možné především díky jeho střídavé spolupráci s Moskvou a Washingtonem. Pro potřeby této studie je tento proces nazván "kyvadlová diplomacie". Tento proces je analyzován ve druhé a třetí kapitole práce, zatímco první kapitola obsahuje analytický rámec pro tuto analýzu. Rigorózní práce se pokouší popsat prostředí, ve kterém byla formována uzbecká zahraniční politika a hlavní výzvy, se kterými se musela vyrovnat.

This rigorous thesis deals with the creation of Uzbekistan's foreign policy. It attempts to answer three main research questions: What were the chief goals of Tashkent's foreign policy? What were the factors that influenced the creation of Uzbekistan's foreign policy? Which factors and causes played the decisive role in the case of Uzbekistan's most significant foreign policy turnovers in 2001, 2005 and 2012? It claims the principal aims of Uzbekistan's foreign policy were threefold. Firstly, it was the preservation of Uzbekistan's independence. Secondly, it was the strengthening and securing of Karimov's regime. Finally, it was the attempt to become the regional leader in Central Asia. Subsequently, the study maintains that the foreign policy formulation was altered by four processes or challenges which the regime in Tashkent had to cope with. These were namely the challenge of geopolitical position, establishing of a viable political system, transforming the command economy, and the threat of radical or political Islam. Uzbekistan's pendulum diplomacy between the US and Russia is a new term coined for the purposes of this study. I argue that Tashkent was prone to change abruptly its strategic partner in order to secure its three strategic imperatives. Hence, there occurred three turnovers of...