Skip to main content
Category

Publications

ENC Analysis – Film Festivals and Cities: A View for south-eastern Europe

By Publications, Research

ENC Analysis – Film Festivals and Cities: A View for south-eastern Europe

The European Neighborhood Council (ENC) released its new analysis on “Film Festivals and Cities: A View for south-eastern Europe.”

The article is written by Dr. Eleni Sideri, ENC Academic Council Member and Assistant Professor at the Department of Balkan, Slavic & Oriental Studies of the University of Macedonia.

The paper examines the growth of the creative economy in the urban context and analyses how film festivals in the European periphery, in southeastern Europe, played a role in the transformation of three cities, Thessaloniki, Sarajevo, and Tbilisi, into regional film centers.

The full paper is available here.

 

ENC Analysis – Global Gateway and Investors Forum: What it means for Central Asia and geo-economics?

By Publications, Research

ENC Analysis – Global Gateway and Investors Forum: What it means for Central Asia and geo-economics?

The European Neighborhood Council (ENC) released a new analysis titled “Global Gateway and Investors Forum: What it means for Central Asia and geo-economics?”

This article is written by our managing director Samuel Doveri Vesterbye.

In this ENC analysis, Mr. Vesterbye looks at Global Gateway, the EU’s largest infrastructure and foreign investment initiative, and what to expect from next week’s Investors Forum and its importance for Central Asia. He also examines the existing Global Gateway projects and explains why the initiative should be assessed within a geoeconomic context, given the current global issues.

The full analysis is available here.

ENC Analysis – Understanding Russia’s Central Asia Policy

By Publications, Research

Understanding Russia’s Central Asia Policy

The European Neighborhood Council (ENC) released a new analysis on Russia’s Central Asia policy.

This article is written by our Academic Council Member Dr. Aijan Sharshenova who is the Executive Director at Crossroads Central Asia and a research fellow at the Foreign Policy Centre in London.

This analysis delves deep into the dynamics of Russia’s policies in the Central Asian region, providing valuable insights into key trends and strategic considerations. Dr. Sharshenova examines the evolving nature of Russia’s approach toward Central Asia, taking into account significant geopolitical shifts, economic strategies, and security dynamics.


The full analysis is available here.

ENC Analysis – EPC Summit: From Empty Chairs to the War in Israel

By Publications, Research

ENC Analysis – EPC Summit: From Empty Chairs to the War in Israel

The European Neighborhood Council (ENC) released a new analysis on the European Political Community (EPC) Summit held in Granada on 5 October 2023. 

This article is written by Samuel Doveri Vesterbye, ENC Managing Director, and Denis Cenusa, Associated Expert at the Eastern Europe Studies Centre and Think Tank “Expert-Grup”.

The European Political Community (EPC) Summit continues to achieve its main objective of fostering dialogue among more than 40 European countries regardless of whether they are EU members, despite the evolution of the EU’s EPC-related ambitions having produced rather limited results. In this ENC Analysis, the authors examine the expectations and the outcomes of the EPC-Granada Summit by focusing on the “empty chair crisis”, the war in Israel, connectivity, security, enlargement, migration, and the war in Ukraine.

The full analysis is available here

ENC Analysis – Sustainable Commercialization of Uzbek Heritage along the Silk Road: A Perspective from the EU

By Publications, Research

ENC Analysis: Sustainable Commercialization of Uzbek Heritage along the Silk Road; a Perspective from the EU

The European Neighborhood Council (ENC) released a new analysis on the tourism development and sustainable commercialization of Uzbekistan’s heritage. 

This article is written by İpek Tekdemir, ENC and European Parliament Advisor for MEP and Secretary General of the EU-Uzbekistan Friendship Group in the European Parliament (EP),  Nazlican Kavukcu and Javida Rahimova.

In light of its extensive historical past, natural surroundings, and delectable cuisine, Uzbekistan has the potential to become a significant tourism destination. In this ENC analysis, the authors examine how the EU may promote the commercialization of Uzbek heritage and the development of sustainable tourism by providing technical and financial assistance to help Uzbek tourism facilities’ efficient use of resources as well as how the recently formed EU-Uzbekistan Friendship Group in the European Parliament (EP) can work in tandem to support the promotion of Uzbek heritage and tourism.

 

The full analysis is available here.

ENC Analysis: Walking a Fine Line- Kyrgyzstan’s Foreign Policy post-2022

By Publications, Research

ENC Analysis: Walking a Fine Line- Kyrgyzstan’s Foreign Policy post-2022

The European Neighbourhood Council (ENC) released a new analysis on how Kyrgyzstan navigates the challenging situation in its foreign policy, in light of the Russia’s war in Ukraine.

This article is written by our Academic Council Member Dr. Aijan Sharshenova, a Research Fellow at the Foreign Policy Centre, UK.

After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Central Asian countries had to swiftly alter their narratives and behaviors regarding foreign policy. In this ENC analysis, the author examines how the Republic of Kyrgyzstan expresses its foreign policy preferences, as a nation that finds itself in a very challenging position by being dependent on both the Russian economy and Western development aid.

The full analysis is available here.

New Report on Media Consumption and Disinformation in Central Asia 

By Events, Projects, Publications, Research

New Report on Media Consumption and Disinformation in Central Asia 

The European Neighbourhood Council released it’s new report on “Central Asian Media Consumption and Disinformation: a quantitative and qualitative assessment in the context of geo-politics”. The report produced under the EU-funded project titled “Resilience and Engagement with Varied Information for a Vibrant Environment” (REVIVE), implemented by Internews.

From the ongoing Russia’s war in Ukraine to controversial domestic events in the region, the report explains what information – and disinformation – Central Asians consume, as well as the reasons why they consume it. The research’s overarching objective is to deepen our understanding of regional media consumption patterns, with a focus on the audiences most vulnerable to disinformation—young, elderly, and linguistic minorities.

A mixed methodology was used to collect both quantitative and qualitative data for the study. In particular, CATI and extensive semi-structured interviews were done in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. Desk research, on the other hand, covered each of the five states in the region, including Turkmenistan. 2,400 people participated in the large-scale survey, while the qualitative portion included 360 in-depth semi-structured interviews, including 60 with media consumers and 30 with media content providers (such as journalists and bloggers) each country.

The report and its recommendations are essential in understanding the media environment and combating disinformation in Central Asia.

Full report, executive summary and infographics in English.
Full report, executive summary, and infographics in Russian.

ENC Analysis: The Geopolitics of EU Enlargement- The case of Georgia

By Publications, Research

ENC Analysis: The Geopolitics of EU Enlargement- The case of Georgia

The European Neighbourhood Council (ENC) released its new analysis on the EU enlargement as a unique instrument, which gives the EU a comparative advantage amid intensified geopolitical competition over its neighborhood.

This article is written by our external advisor Dr. Natalie Sabadanze, a Cyrus Vance visiting professor in International Relations at Mount Holyoke College, USA.

The European Union has given an exceptionally swift response to Russia’s war against Ukraine by imposing sanctions, reviving the transatlantic partnership, taking steps to ensure its energy independence, and offering Ukraine and Moldova candidate status, and Georgia a chance at the same. In this ENC analysis, the author examines how the EU can benefit from enlargement for its own geopolitical gain without sacrificing its fundamental values and the transformative agenda for the candidate states and offers an analysis of the present difficulties facing both the EU and Georgia as well as suggestions for how to overcome them.

The full analysis is available here.

The Return of Central Asia: The EU’s engagement with a region threatened by the Dragonbear

By Publications, Research

The Return of Central Asia: The EU’s engagement with a region threatened by the Dragonbear

The European Neighbourhood Council released a new study titled “The Return of Central Asia: the EU’s engagement with a region threatened by the Dragonbear” together with Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) | Multinational Development Policy Dialogue (MDPD) Brussels.

This report is written by Samuel Doveri Vesterbye (ENC Managing Director), Farkhod Aminjonov (Assistant Professor at National Defence College), Kemel Toktomushev (Senior Research Fellow at UCA’s Institute of Public Policy and Administration and Assistant Professor of Political Science at UCA’s School of Arts and Sciences) and edited by Janne Leino (KAS Programme Manager Foreign and Security Policy and Multilateral Issues). The foreword of the report is written by Michael Gahler, Member of the European Parliament, Coordinator for Foreign Affairs, European People´s Party Group in the European Parliament.

A renewed interest in Central Asia has emerged as a result of the Russian aggression in Ukraine, Europe’s reliance on fossil resources, and trade routes to Asia. Central Asia has been regarded as a secondary priority in European Union (EU) policy circles. Despite the region’s geographic location between Asia and Europe, limited EU funding has been allocated towards the five Central Asian Republics. This paradigm has changed since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Today, Central Asia is capable of providing the EU with much-needed energy diversification, rare earths, new markets and security partnerships. This study looks at how the European Union and its Member states should engage with the region, where both China and Russia have already established a strong presence.

The main findings of the study include:

  1. The EU should concentrate on closer cooperation with its partners in the sense of a “Team Europe” in order to provide Central Asia with an alternative to the growing Russian and Chinese influence.
  2. The EU and its member states should have an understanding of the regional security environment of Central Asia to achieve long-term success and to be able to implement cooperation in a goal-oriented manner.
  3. It’s important to combat the manipulation of foreign information and to increase funding for enhancing media literacy in Central Asia in order to guarantee a stable starting point for political and economic activity.

Read the full study here.

Read the Flipbook version here.

ENC Analysis: EU-Central Asian Interactions

By Publications, Research

ENC Analysis: EU-Central Asian Interactions

The European Neighbourhood Council (ENC) released its new analysis on the growing importance of the interactions between the European Union and Central Asian countries.

This article is written by our academic council members Prof. Rick Fawn (Chair in International Relations at the University of St Andrews in Scotland), Dr. Karolina Kluczewska (FWO postdoctoral researcher at the Ghent Institute for International and European Studies (GIES) at Ghent University), and Dr. Oleg Korneev (Associate Professor at the Department of Political Science and International Relations at the HSE University in St. Petersburg).   

Central Asia’s role in the EU’s external relations and security agenda is growing and has served as a testing ground for many EU policies, particularly those related to region-building and resilience promotion. In turn, studying the EU’s approach sheds light on how Central Asian actors engage with external partners, influence national policy agendas, and impact everyday life. In this ENC Analysis, the authors examine how the EU and Central Asia view one another, as well as mention the ten articles that came out of the research project ‘Contested Global Governance, Transformed Global Governors? International Organisations and “Weak” States’ (GLOBALCONTEST), and a series of events co-organized by European Neighbourhood Council and the project team.

The full analysis is available here.