Geopolitics
The Avaza Mirage: Central Asia's Consensus and the Looming Shadow of Neocolonial Resource Grab
The Central Asian leaders at the Avaza summit demonstrated a striking consensus on the need for deeper economic integration and joint management of critical issues like water, yet their stated ambitions remain at odds with a decades-long 'action deficit' and unresolved structural tensions. This crucial moment, where words are plentiful but deeds are scarce, is being exploited by external powers like the United States and South Korea, who are moving to extract the region's critical minerals and shape its future, threatening to turn this strategic Eurasian heartland into yet another neocolonial resource frontier if its leaders fail to achieve genuine, self-determined unity.
