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Alignments and Realignments in Central Asia: The Rationale and Implications of Uzbekistan's Rapprochement with Russia

The eviction of the USA from the military base at Khanabad-Qarshi and the signing of an alliance treaty between Uzbekistan and Russia in November 2005 marked one of the most dramatic turnarounds in international alliances in the post-cold-war era. This article shows that regime survival is a driving force behind Uzbekistan's realignment. It also argues that a full account of Uzbekistan's turnaround needs to take into consideration systemic factors, namely, an external environment in which Russia provided a viable strategic and economic alternative. The article concludes by suggesting how the “normative competition” in the region between Russia (and China) and the USA helps account for the timing of Uzbekistan's realignment.