Central Asia: views from Washington, Moscow, and Beijing

The disintegration of the Soviet Union in 1991 rapidly and irrevocably transformed Central Asia's political landscape.

This region of five sovereign states with a population of some fifty million people quickly became a major focus of interest and influence for competing poles of power.

The eminent contributors to this volume offer a four-part analysis of the region's new importance in world affairs.

Rajan Menon examines the place of Central Asia in a global perspective, while Dimitri Trenin looks at it from the standpoint of traditional hegemon Russia.

Huasheng Zhao provides the view from economic superpower-in-the-making China, and Eugene Rumer represents the position of the post-9/11 United States.