Central Asia between Islam and the Great Powers: The implications of September 11

The so-called Islamic threat has become a significant but elusive factor in the politics of Central Asia. It now also looms large in official thinking in Beijing, Moscow and Washington. By combining diverse and complementary reserach skills and backgrounds, this study will shed new light on the impact of Islam in this emerging centre of geopolitical rivalry and beyond. The analysis will centre on the unplored but critical interaction between the domestic and foreign policies of the Central Asian republics on the one hand, and the complex and evolving relationship between them and the great powers on the other.