ABSTRACT

The water-energy-agriculture nexus has long been a conundrum in Central Asia (CA) that poses a direct threat to United States (US) prosperity, stability, and interests. The CA water-energy-agriculture nexus conundrum stems from the disintegration of the resource-sharing system imposed on the region by Moscow until the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Under that system, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan provided water to Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan in summer and received Kazakh, Turkmen, and Uzbek coal, gas, and electricity in winter. As CA economies become increasingly weaker and states more fragile, heightened nationalism, religious discrimination and dogmatism, border disputes, and regional tensions complicate the search for mutually acceptable solutions to the region's water, energy, and related needs. The United States has a number of important strategic interests in CA. According to the U. S. Congressional Research Service, these interests include securing and eliminating Soviet-era nuclear and biological weapons materials and facilities.