Analysis on the Drivers Behind the “EU/CA: Strategy for a New Partnership”

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www.seipub.org/ijss

International Journal of Sociology Study Volume 2, 2014

Analysis on the Drivers Behind the “EU/CA: Strategy for a New Partnership” Cuicui Ma *1, Qinlin Bu2 International Exchange and Cooperation Department, Hubei University of Chinese Medicine. ADD: No.1 Western Road, Huangjiahu, Hongshan District, Wuhan City, Hubei, China. *1mc88346669@163.com; 2bql972@126.com Abstract Before 1991, the Central Asian states were the peripheral and backward zones of Soviet Union, and they also did not play an important role in the Cold War. However, with the collapse of Soviet Union in 1990s, the “heart zone” of the world was divided into “vacuum” as well as the re-discovery of the energy resources of the Caspian Sea, which not only attracted lots of international oil companies, but also drew the attention of big powers. Therefore, under the stimulate of geopolitical interests, the Central Asian region became the “Chess Board” for multi-lateral players; under the stimulate of geo-economic interest, the Caspian Sea-Central Asia has evolved into a “battle without smoke” for the big powers to fight for energy resources. Besides, Central Asia, itself, emerged as a conflict area, such as the violent clashes erupted between ethnic groups in the region's Fergana Valley. Corrupted political and economic reform, soaring social problems nurtured the radical groups and provided fertile ground for the foreign Islamic networks, and militant organizations like the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU). With the eruption of “9.11” events in 2001 and the spread of terrorist organizations operating in Afghanistan, the status of Central Asia was greatly improved in the global strategy of US, and further triggered the “dark war” fighting for the power vacuum in the scope of the whole world. As for EU, Central Asia means a brand-new area standing in the eastern part of EU after collapse of Eastern European socialism in 1989 and the dissolution of Soviet Union. The power vacuum and ideological vacuum promoted some member states of EU (mainly for the Germany) shifting their attention to the newly born Central Asian countries. The thesis sets the European Union and Central Asia: Strategy for a New Partnership as background to analyze the drivers of the New Strategy from two perspectives--EU and Central Asia and three dimensions-- countries, region and world. KeyWords New Strategy; Drivers; EU; CA Countries

The connections between EU and CA states have enjoyed a long history since the establishment of the trade line “silk road”. After the Cold War, EU began to

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give priority to the CA region under the overall climate the international relations and the interactive relations. The collapse of socialism system in Eastern Europe in 1989 and the final disintegration of Soviet Union in 1991 made the brand new CA states rising in the eastern part of EU. The power vacuum and the ideological vacuum promoted some EU member states swiftly changing their attention to the newly born CA states which were the republics of Former Soviet Union to encourage their development of democracy and market economy. From 2001 to 2006, the EU has increasingly enhanced the bilateral relations with the CA relations. Prior to 2007, the development of bilateral relations is mainly demonstrated in the following aspects: the first aspect is the Technical Assistance to the Commonwealth of Independent States (TACIS), which centered on promoting market economy and strengthening democracy and role of law; the second aspect is the Partnership and Cooperation Agreements (PCAs), which centered on the cooperation modes and cooperation contents between EU and CA states; the third aspect is the adoption of Strategy Paper for Central Asia for Assistance 2002-2006, which made the EU’s CA regional strategy more influential; the fourth aspect is the designation of EU Special Representative (EUSR) in Central Asian states, which means EU was paying more and more attention to CA issues. Along the track, the bilateral relations between EU and CA states have got stable improvements. And then, the evolvement of EU/CA relations from the Cold War to 2006 has laid solid foundation for the birth of New Strategy in 2007. The New Strategy symbolizes the EU has become an independent power in the stage of CA Game. And then, the influence of EU has improved in Central Asian region. Besides the historical accumulation, the thesis will illustrate the drivers of the New Strategy from the perspectives of EU and Central Asia.


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