Central Asia: New Arc of Crisis?

By Shirin Akiner
18 Jun 2004

After the collapse of the Soviet Union in December 1991 a new fear emerged: that of Central Asia as a key link in a Muslim fundamentalist ‘arc of instability’ stretching from north Africa to western China. Once again, reality was brushed aside in favour of sensationalist theory. Central Asia today is in a state of flux, full of ambiguities and contradictions. Islam is undoubtedly an important factor, but only one of many. The aim of this paper is to draw attention to some of the complexities of the current situation.

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