Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts described in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book provides a short economic description of the region and individual countries. It analysis the political and economic developments in Central Asia, since the collapse of the USSR. The book examines the regional context over an entire century, from the prerevolutionary Tsarist era to the 1990s. It also analysis the economic structures in Central Asia, considers the potential for regional economic integration, and assesses the prospects for economic relations with Russia and China. The book explores the current relations and potential economic cooperation with two neighboring superpowers, Russia and China. It focuses on two "regional superpowers"—Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. These two countries hold much of the economic potential of Central Asia—approximately 80 percent of the GDP, population, and fixed capital.