ABSTRACT
In their internal development, Central Asia is no longer a single, unified region of five post-Soviet states, but increasingly disparate states with different growth strategies, results, and political orientations. All the countries are low-income, but they may profitably be divided into three classes: the petro-dependent (Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan), the other-dependent (Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan), and the independent (Uzbekistan). Their relative weaknesses and vulnerability in material and military resources condition their external policies, including their security arrangements. After presenting some summary indicators, each of the four other Central Asian countries is examined in some detail.
