Cooperation from Outside: Security Regionalism in Central Asia and Its Limits

Abstract The degree of institutionalized cooperation on security among three or more the five Central Asian states remains moderate. Currently, regional is nurtured in part via frameworks provided by external state and nonstate partners. A rational institutionalist perspective has been invoked, suggesting demand for cooperation. This view also insinuates that it would be reasonable these states, because their limited resources, to rely largely partners instead being self-organized. article discusses additional causal factors possibly responsible low regionalism. Given varying foreign policy preferences Kazakhstan’s consistent backing far-reaching regionalism, argument autocracies generally refrain from deep cannot sustained, nor does sea change Uzbekistan’s 2016, which could serve nurture regionalism future, align well with this argument.