title: Central Asia’s Security Provider and Peacekeeper? Assessing Russia’s Role After the US Withdrawal from Afghanistan and Beyond
abstract: Abstract Russia and the Central Asian countries have developed strong cooperation in countering non-traditional threats emanating from terrorist groups and transnational criminal organizations based on a shared vision of the threats themselves and instruments to tackle them. The 2021 takeover by the Taliban in Afghanistan brought to the fore a need to protect the borders of Central Asian states from any spill-over effects, as well as illicit activities. The 2022 civil unrest in Kazakhstan embodi