"Oil and gas are proving as much a burden as a benefit to Central Asia. The three oil and gas producers in the region – Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan – are showing signs of the “resource curse” under which energy-rich nations fail to thrive or develop distorted, unstable economies. Geography and their history in the Soviet Union have bound them to Russia, through which most of their energy exports must be transported. Moscow is proving to be an unreliable partner for foreign consumers as it has been willing to cut off pipelines to apply commercial or political pressure.  read more »

"Uzbekistan: Stagnation and Uncertainty, the latest International Crisis Group briefing, warns that two years after the Andijon massacre, the country remains a serious risk to itself and the region. The 69-year-old Karimov’s term ended formally in January but he shows no sign of stepping down. There is no clear successor or succession process, so an eventual power struggle could well be violent.  read more »

"IWPR builds democracy at the frontlines of conflict and change through the power of professional journalism. IWPR programs provide intensive hands-on training, extensive reporting and publishing, and ambitious initiatives to build the capacity of local media. Supporting peace-building, development and the rule of law, IWPR gives responsible local media a voice."

"Chartered in 1988, ISCIP focuses on transitional societies in crisis, especially Russia and other post-Soviet states, paying particular attention to destabilizing factors of a political, ethnic, and/or international nature."

"EurasiaNet provides information and analysis about political, economic, environmental and social developments in the countries of Central Asia and the Caucasus, as well as in Russia, the Middle East, and Southwest Asia. The web site also offers additional features, including newsmaker interviews and book reviews... EurasiaNet is operated by the Central Eurasia Project of the Open Society Institute."

A guidebook from Article XIX and OSCE:

"This Pocketbook is intended as an accessible and reliable resource for anyone with an interest in promoting realisation of the right to freedom of expression, such as journalists, public officials, judges, lawyers and civil society campaigners. To this end, the Pocketbook gives an overview of the exact meaning of the right to freedom of expression in international law, of best practice in other countries and regions, and of the recommendations of leading international bodies, experts and NGOs. Recognising that domestic advocacy and litigation will not always succeed in ensuring respect for freedom of expression, the Pocketbook also extensively discusses the international mechanisms through which citizens of the Central Asian republics can promote this right."

"Central Asian Voices is an interactive multilingual website that features timely analysis of political, economic, social and security developments in the five states of Central Asia. The website is produced by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, under the direction of Dr. Martha Brill Olcott. "

"The Central Asia-Caucasus Analyst is an English language global Web journal devoted to analysis of the current issues facing the Central Asia-Caucasus region. It serves to link the business, governmental, journalistic and scholarly communities and is the global voice of the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute, The Johns Hopkins University-The Nitze School of Advanced International Studies."

neweurasia.net is a group weblog written by people in many countries and focusing on Central Asia and the Caucasus. Many of the writers are western academics living outside the region, but they have worked hard (and with success) to attract local bloggers from the countries they cover. neweurasia.net is the umbrella site for the project; specific countries also have their own pages, including sites in English, Russian, and other languages.