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Back to Issue: No.6, 2025

Historical background and development of military alliances in Central Asia

Azis Isaev

Abstract

The relevance of this study lies in the necessity of analysing the historical premises shaping the modern security system and the divergent defence strategies of Central Asian states amid geopolitical rivalry. The aim of the work was to trace and analyse the evolution of forms of military cooperation and political organisation in Central Asia – from pre-colonial nomadic state formations such as the Yenisei Khaganate to the establishment of contemporary national defence doctrines following the collapse of imperial and Soviet systems. The research employed historical-institutional and comparative-political analysis. It revealed that the military-political organisation of nomadic peoples possessed a complex state structure with a decimal system of troops and a developed hierarchy, while inter-state cooperation in the pre-colonial period, as demonstrated by the wars of Bukhara, Kokand and Khiva, remained situational due to internal contradictions. Political fragmentation facilitated the Russian conquest, which replaced independent alliances with forced integration into the imperial military structure, including the Turkestan Military District. During the Soviet period, this model evolved, reaching its peak in the mass mobilisation of the Second World War, strengthening centralisation and laying the foundations of national military narratives. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Central Asian countries began to form their own defence strategies, which can be divided into several types. Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan relied on collective security through participation in the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO). Kazakhstan adopted a multi-vector policy, balancing cooperation with Russia, China, the United States, and the European Union to maintain flexibility and independence in its foreign policy. Uzbekistan, in turn, pursued an autonomous approach, seeking to minimise dependence on external alliances and focusing on strengthening its own defence capacity. The practical significance of the research lies in providing a comprehensive historical basis for deeper analysis of current geopolitical processes and the challenges to sovereignty faced by the region’s states

Keywords

political unions; protectorate; post-Soviet period; trade routes; ulus

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Suggested citation

Isaev, A. (2025). Historical background and development of military alliances in Central Asia. Foreign Affairs, 35(6), 19-30. https://doi.org/10.59214/ua.fa/6.2025.19
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