Hear the lecture “Backlash: How Central Asia is Reshaping China’s Rise” featuring Bradley Jardine, Managing Director of the Oxus Society for Central Asian Affairs, and Edward Lemon, President of the Oxus Society for Central Asian Affairs. As global power dynamics continue to fragment, Central Asia stands at the crossroads of strategic opportunity and geopolitical constraint. Long cast as a peripheral zone of great power competition within the spheres of influence of Russia and China, the region is increasingly asserting itself as an autonomous actor balancing relationships with Russia, China, the United States, the European Union, Turkey, India, and the Gulf states through multivector diplomacy. This lecture explores how Central Asian governments and publics are leveraging shifting global alignments, critical mineral wealth, and emerging transit corridors to gain leverage and resist dependency. In an era defined by contested global orders and technological competition, Central Asia has the potential to be not just a bridge between East and West, but a key set of actors asserting themselves in a multipolar world.
New York City, NY; NYC