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This paper considers the concept of science diplomacy in the context of Eurasian history with a particular focus on the period of the Mongol Empire in the 13th century. The Mongol Empire held sway over much of Eurasia and thus participated in diplomatic activity within and outside of Mongol domains. Scientists and intellectuals routinely headed diplomatic embassies sent and received by the Mongol Empire. Diplomats were valued for their knowledge and skills and served as interlocutors and translators for the Mongol Khans. These scientist-diplomats were key figures in the court and were essential in facilitating exchanges, building connections and fostering relations. As polyglots and polymaths they were able to operate in a multi-cultural environment. They were part of the complex framework of the Mongol Empire that brought to bear a kind of Eurasian development model that relied on expertise, knowledge and resources that could be utilised across the empire. Set within this context, the paper describes the creation of a politico-science complex in Mongol Eurasia with a special emphasis on the relationship between the Mongol Khans and their partners, chief among them were scientists and intellectuals. The Mongol Empire as an empire built upon exchanges summarises how scientific exchanges were both a product of and a driver for diplomatic relations in this period. Thus, the historical connection between diplomacy and science in Eurasia is a necessary component in understanding the modern notion of science diplomacy beyond a European context and applied more globally both in terms of time and space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main objective of the paper is analyzing bilateral and multilateral relations in the economy, policy, migration, security, technology, transport communication, and cultural exchange between Central Asia and Uzbekistan with Republic of Korea. Based interdisciplinary approach and comparative study it was elaborated status, challenges, and perspectives of South Korean–Uzbekistan relations. The Central Asian partnership with the Republic of Korea has been strengthened and the countries of the region consider South Korea as a highly developed state, occupying one of the leading places in the Asia-Pacific region. Central Asia for Korea, in turn, is an important region with huge natural and energy resources, potential for mutually beneficial investment projects and a large export market. Over years, the directions of partnership between the Republic of Korea and Uzbekistan have significantly expanded both within the framework of bilateral and multilateral formats, and today they cover almost all major areas. However, there are also many problems including the lack of land transport links between them, which affects the cost and timing of delivery of transported goods. South Korea has a strongly positive image in Central Asia. Like other countries of region, Uzbekistan strongly support South Korean aim at preserving and strengthening peace and stability on the Korean peninsula. Implementation of joint projects aimed at the formation of common transport and communication, energy and production networks on the Eurasian continent, can contribute to the revival of the Great Silk Road in modern realities with the restoration of direct railway and road connections of the Korean peninsula with the countries of Central Asia and other states of the continent. Also, it is necessary to develop optimal models for connecting the Korea-Central Asia with other projects and mechanisms of multilateral cooperation operating in the region, such as TRACECA and the EU Strategy, Belt and Road, Central Asia + Japan, India-Central Asia etc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article argues that Uzbekistan's cooperation agenda with Russia, China, Japan, and South Korea demonstrates clear signs of breaking with the Karimov-era security-driven agenda for cooperation in favor of de-securitization. This article uses a comparative analysis of the engagement of Russia, China, Japan, and South Korea with Uzbekistan through an analysis of the shifting political discourses in Uzbekistan and these states, statistics regarding their interaction, and an analysis of the economic road maps of their engagement from 2015 onward. This timeframe is attributed particular importance in this article, as it symbolizes the new opening of Uzbekistan toward these four states after the death of its dictatorial President Islam Karimov. In terms of the narrative, this article will first explore the problem of the securitization of the Central Asian region and the cooperation agenda. The article then discusses the motivations of Uzbekistan and its cooperation counterparts in pursuing closer ties. This discussion will then be followed by an analysis of how the new leadership in Uzbekistan re-evaluated its past behavior to address its post- and neocolonial challenges and the cooperation agendas with Russia, China, South Korea, and Japan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Through analysis of the evolution of the Japanese, Chinese and South Korean narratives of the Silk Road, this paper argues that the content and the nature of these Silk Road strategies changed with time and the international environment. Thus, this paper claims that, the notion of the Silk Road has changed from a static concept of a historical trade route into a product of social construction of a number of powerful states – strategies that are constantly shaped, imagined and re-interpreted. In this sense, the Silk Road is not a foreign policy doctrine but rather a discursive strategy of engagement that largely exists in the realm of narration. This narration is also a matter of social construction that is subject to change depending on the international environment of the country (China, Japan, Korea, etc.) that produces such narratives, context of a receiving region, the alternative narratives that compete for wider international acceptance and the country's vision of “self” and the “other” in the international context.

This paper re-focuses the Silk Road discussions from the position of contemporary art in Central Asian region. Since the late 1980s contemporary art in Central Asia boomed and it eventually became an alternative public space for the discussion of cultural transformations, social and global processes and problems that local societies faced. Initially the questions raised by many artists concerned issues of lost identity and lost heritage during the period of Soviet domination in the region. Different artists started re-imagining the concept of the Self in their works and criticising the old rigid approaches to geography, history and mobility. Nomadic heritage became one of the central themes in contemporary art of Central Asia in the 1990s. Artists started experimenting with symbols of mobility, fluid borders and imagined geography of the “magic steppe” (see Kudaibergenova 2017, “Punk Shamanism”). Contemporary art in Central Asia continues to serve as a space for social critique and a space for search and re-conceptualisation of new fluid identities, geographies and region's place on the world map. In this paper I critically evaluate three themes connected to the symbolism of Silk Road heritage that many artists engage with – imagined geography, routes, roads and mobility. All three themes are present in the selected case studies of Gulnara Kasmalieva's and Muratbek Djumaliev's TransSiberian Amazons (2005) and A New Silk Road: Algorithm of Survival and Hope (2007) multi-channel video art, Victor and Elena Vorobievs' (Non)Silk Road (2006) performance and photography, Almagul Menlibayeva's My Silk Road to You video-art and photography (2010–2011), Yerbossyn Meldibekov's series on imagining Central Asia and the Mountains of Revolution (2012–2015), and Syrlybek Bekbotaev's Kyrgyz Pass installation (2014–2015) as well as Defenders of Issyk Kul (2014). I trace how artists modernise, mutate and criticise main discourses about Silk Road and what impact this has on the re-imagination processes.

The introduction to the Special Issue explores the relevance of the concept of West Asia for understanding connections between East Asia, Eurasia, and the Middle East. It seeks to go beyond the tendency in much scholarly work concerning regional connectivity in Asia to fixate on various permutations of the "Silk Road" or East–West ties more generally. We bring attention, rather, to the simultaneous significance of dense North–South connections that enable the interpenetration of varying parts of Asia and argue that West Asia is analytically helpful in bringing definition to such ties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyses the role and place of the SCO in the development of interstate interaction in the Eurasian space, as well as the condition of and prospects for the main areas of multifaceted cooperation within the Organisation. The author further analyses the characteristics of the SCO partnership system as a model of interstate interaction that can provide an institutional platform for broad regional economic cooperation within the context of the new realities of Eurasian development, the implementation of member states' national development strategies, the linking of efforts to align integration processes within the EAEU, and the implementation of China's One Belt, One Road initiative with the potential to form an overarching partnership between countries of Eurasia and the Asia-Pacific region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Eurasia has never been one of major directions of Japan's foreign policy, but its importance for Tokyo is growing. This article analyzes its increasing significance to foreign policy of Japan, causes and consequences of this policy's duality and inconsistency. It also studies the reasons for the limited success of Tokyo's diplomacy in Eurasia and discusses possible prospects for growing Japanese involvement in the region. It concludes that Japan's Eurasian policy is inconsistent and is likely to remain so since the cause behind it remains unchanged – that is, the contradiction between Japan's actual economic interests and its willingness to follow in the ideological and geopolitical footsteps of the U.S. The path Japan takes in the future will largely depend on the economic results of the implementation of the Silk Road Economic Belt, its linkage with the plans of the Eurasian Economic Union, the progress of Russian–Chinese cooperation, and the project of Greater Eurasian partnership put forward by Russia and supported by China. If the economic projects of Eurasia's non-Western players prove effective, Tokyo will be more tempted to cooperate with them despite its close ties with the U.S. However, if Eurasia's non-Western states, and particularly China, are overly active with their foreign policy and militaries in the Asia Pacific, it will push Tokyo to create a variety of structures that would curb and serve as a political counterbalance to Chinese and Russian influence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Through analysis of the evolution of the Japanese, Chinese and South Korean narratives of the Silk Road, this paper argues that the content and the nature of these Silk Road strategies changed with time and the international environment. Thus, this paper claims that, the notion of the Silk Road has changed from a static concept of a historical trade route into a product of social construction of a number of powerful states – strategies that are constantly shaped, imagined and re-interpreted. In this sense, the Silk Road is not a foreign policy doctrine but rather a discursive strategy of engagement that largely exists in the realm of narration. This narration is also a matter of social construction that is subject to change depending on the international environment of the country (China, Japan, Korea, etc.) that produces such narratives, context of a receiving region, the alternative narratives that compete for wider international acceptance and the country's vision of “self” and the “other” in the international context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Political and economic rapprochement is taking place between Russia and China in a number of fields: energy, arms production, trade in national currencies and strategic projects in transport and supporting infrastructure. This development, fostered by Western policies and actions, including sanctions related to Ukraine, appears to be strengthening despite reservations related to uneasy precedents, contrasting visions and uncertain economic projections. Chinese policies aiming at European markets via the revival of the Silk Road assist this development. The One Belt-One Road is projected as an alternative, or supplement, to the maritime routes made unsafe by contiguous countries' unrest, criminality and the assertive control of the seas by the United States. While Russia, promoting friendly investment structures, moves eastwards to develop the Russian Far East bordering China, the latter expands westwards engaging in laborious negotiations with Central Asian countries and costly investments in infrastructure and logistics. In each area, the article maintains that both countries, despite economic and political competition and fear of losing control, have interest in cooperation and discusses the areas where this is taking place, albeit slowly and with difficulty. Whether economic cooperation can develop into a strategic alliance including defence is discussed in the light of joint military exercises, arms trade and plans to broaden the scope of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (of which India and Pakistan have recently become members), and the Common ASEAN Community. This path is difficult and marred by members' conflicting interests. But some positive outcomes should not be ruled out. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper re-focuses the Silk Road discussions from the position of contemporary art in Central Asian region. Since the late 1980s contemporary art in Central Asia boomed and it eventually became an alternative public space for the discussion of cultural transformations, social and global processes and problems that local societies faced. Initially the questions raised by many artists concerned issues of lost identity and lost heritage during the period of Soviet domination in the region. Different artists started re-imagining the concept of the Self in their works and criticising the old rigid approaches to geography, history and mobility. Nomadic heritage became one of the central themes in contemporary art of Central Asia in the 1990s. Artists started experimenting with symbols of mobility, fluid borders and imagined geography of the “magic steppe” (see Kudaibergenova 2017, “Punk Shamanism”). Contemporary art in Central Asia continues to serve as a space for social critique and a space for search and re-conceptualisation of new fluid identities, geographies and region's place on the world map. In this paper I critically evaluate three themes connected to the symbolism of Silk Road heritage that many artists engage with – imagined geography, routes, roads and mobility. All three themes are present in the selected case studies of Gulnara Kasmalieva's and Muratbek Djumaliev's TransSiberian Amazons (2005) and A New Silk Road: Algorithm of Survival and Hope (2007) multi-channel video art, Victor and Elena Vorobievs' (Non)Silk Road (2006) performance and photography, Almagul Menlibayeva's My Silk Road to You video-art and photography (2010–2011), Yerbossyn Meldibekov's series on imagining Central Asia and the Mountains of Revolution (2012–2015), and Syrlybek Bekbotaev's Kyrgyz Pass installation (2014–2015) as well as Defenders of Issyk Kul (2014). I trace how artists modernise, mutate and criticise main discourses about Silk Road and what impact this has on the re-imagination processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The impact of Mongol conquests across Eurasia is still controversial: did they destroy everything in their path or rather create a “Mongol peace” under which the Silk Road exchanges flourished? Too often medieval authors are cited merely for their negative reaction to the Mongols. Yet both the written sources and evidence from archeology show a picture of some complexity that requires critical analysis. The emphasis here is on archeology, often ignored or slighted by historians of the Mongols, and on evidence from Central Asia and Eastern Europe, primarily as reported in Russian-language scholarship. The impact of the Mongols varied depending on the location and the priorities of the new conquerors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the relevance of the concept of Silk Road for understanding the patterns of trade and exchange between China, Eurasia and the Middle East. It is based on ethnographic fieldwork in the city of Yiwu, in China's Zhejiang Province. Yiwu is a node in the global distribution of Chinese ‘small commodities’ and home to merchants and traders from across Asia and beyond. The article explores the role played by traders from Afghanistan in connecting the city of Yiwu to markets and trading posts in the world beyond. It seeks to bring attention to the diverse types of networks involved in such forms of trade, as well as their emergence and development over the past thirty years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the so-called ‘Asian Century’ unfolds, Central Asian countries are increasingly directing their foreign relations eastward. Meanwhile, Asian states are equally turning to Central Asia in their search for energy resources and new markets. This dual dynamic is giving rise to closer and deeper ties in three key areas. As far as infrastructures are concerned, various Asian powers have adopted Silk Road policies that see Central Asia as a fundamental transit route for their long-haul connectivity projects. In the field of trade, Central Asia's exchanges with other Asian countries have been growing steadily since the 1990s, in some cases even coming to rival, in comparative terms, exchanges with the West. Lastly, in terms of multilateralism, Central Asia is increasingly enmeshed in a web of overlapping institutions with a strong Asian identity, coexisting with the region's Western institutional references. The article then problematizes this emerging pattern by sketching out some of the possible ramifications that could stem from the sustainment and consolidation of these trends for the international order and the global balance of power. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]