Central Asia Barometer seeks partners to co-fund the next phase of United Central Asia. Obstacles, Opportunities, Prospects research project. This call could be of particular interest to the institutions and organizations engaged in regional integration, conflict prevention, border management, and other development projects in Central Asia.

The first phase of the project in 2021 was generously supported by the Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung Central Asia and the fieldwork was conducted in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. The next phase of the project is planned for 2022 and it will cover Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.

CAB seeks partners to co-fund the project in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. In the light of the ongoing tension between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan on the border issues, it’s crucial to assess the current level of relations between these two countries and their outlooks toward other Central Asian states. The project results will provide insightful data for foreign policy decision-makers, analysts, researchers, media, and the public within the respective countries during these eventful times.

CAB plans to conduct the survey regularly with the fieldwork run simultaneously in all five Central Asian countries in line with its mission to measure the social, economic, and political "atmosphere" in the countries of Central Asia.

Please, contact us at info@ca-barometer.org, whenever you are ready to be involved in this worthwhile research project. We are open to any mode of collaboration on this project.

First Phase of the Project

The aim of the study covering five Central Asian countries - Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan - was generally to determine the level of current relations between the countries and their readiness, possible barriers, and opportunities for greater integration and cooperation. This applied research process utilized methods including public opinion polls, focus groups, and expert interviews. The process was broad and explorative, covering a wide range of topics, and providing a nuanced array of data from varying perspectives for further research on specific issues. 

The first phase of the project answered the following questions: 

1. What are the Central Asian countries' common cultural, political, economic, and social identities based on the opinions of experts and ordinary Uzbekistanis and Kazakhstanis? 

2. How well are the residents of Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan informed about the neighboring countries in the region? 

3. What is the attitude of the population of Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan towards other Central Asian countries? 

4. How do experts and ordinary residents of Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan assess the level of cooperation between the Central Asian countries at the moment? 

5. How do experts and ordinary residents of Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan view the prospect of greater regional cooperation and integration between Central Asian countries, and do they connect the future of their countries with the development of the entire region? 

6. Is closer cooperation and greater integration between the countries of the region possible? What facilitates and prevents this possibility from the point of view of the experts and residents of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan?

Main Results of the First Phase