| Summary: | One of the most important geopolitical events at the end of the twentieth century was the appearance of five new nation-states in what Halford Mackinder described, in 1904, as the heartland or geographical hub of the world. Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kirghizstan are the countries that make up Central Asia and that currently play an important role in global geopolitics and the global economy, above all because of their oil and gas reserves. However, given their importance in the region, they are experiencing a range of conflicts, including incomplete democratization processes, disputes over the use and exploitation of the Caspian Sea resources, ethnic problems, and a rise in Islamic fundamentalism, all of which impact on regional and international stability, in addition to an intense rivalry between global and regional powers for influence in the zone. This paper identifies the most significant conflicts in Central Asia and sketches out some of the possible scenarios for the region’s future
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