Preventing Conflict in the "Stans" Countries & Regions - Several
destabilizing dynamics persist throughout eastern Central Asia,
such as weak governance, poor social and economic conditions,
ethnic tensions and religious militancy. While these differ in
kind and scope in each country, some conflict drivers are
transnational in scope, such as energy insecurity and
environmental degradation. - Most factors mitigating or managing
conflict-risks--such as foreign capital injections, migrant
remittances and Soviet-style repression--are unsustainable and
could trigger future violence. - Given the deep Uzbek suspicion
of any foreign, particularly Western, presence in the region,
conflict prevention efforts should primarily focus on the Kyrgyz
and Tajik side of the Ferghana Valley, a potential hotbed of
instability. - The U.S. government (USG) should coordinate its
engagements in Central Asia with regional powers China and
Russia; these efforts should be complemented by policy
initiatives that tackle the unique challe