Külügyi Szemle - A Magyar Külügyi Intézet folyóirata - 2009 (8. évfolyam)
2009 / 1. szám - KÖZÉP-ÁZSIA - Makkay Lilla: Élénkülő forgalom a Selyemúton, avagy a "Nagy Játszma" újabb fejezete Közép-Ázsiában
Résumé Increasing Traffic on the Silk Road - a New Phase of the "Great Game" in Central Asia The Central Asian region and its newly independent states have been gaining increasing importance since the fall of the Soviet Union due to their location at important crossroads connecting East and West, North and South, abundant energy resources, and the proximity to countries of great opportunities and also volatility. For many centuries being the main communication route for trade and cultural exchange between China and the West, the Silk Road and the countries along it are again attracting the attention of the great powers, the major actors of the geostrategic play in Eurasia. This article examines the current trends of development in Central Asia, focusing on China's, the EU's, Russia's and the US' efforts to increase their presence and predominance in this region, in terms of both economic and strategic, and also of cultural influence. The paper contains a brief exposure of how the main powers' strategic interests compete with each other in Central Asia in the fields of securing oil and natural gas import, creating new communication channels, gaining market opportunities, enhancing stability, and struggling for dominance in the cultural orientation of the people living in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. Finally, some concluding remarks are offered on the future geoeconomic and geopolitical strategic relationship between the countries of the region and the possibility of revitalizing the spirit of the Silk Road. 2009. tavasz 165
