The OSCEs of Central Asia

Central Asia is the 'best customer' of the OSCE. It is the area of five post-Soviet OSCE participating states that are in significant need of support by the organization that prides itself on cooperative security and that have many shortcomings primarily in the humanitarian dimension, which the organization should foster to change. Central Asia has demonstrated less political and socio-economic transformation since its independence than it could have. While it receives reduced interest due to the declining importance of those two matters that contributed to it (rich natural resources and energy bearers and the vicinity of Afghanistan), the OSCE is the organization where Central Asia is 'at home'. Central Asian states would like to face less soft persuasion (and even less hard pressure), but they would like to benefit from the assistance of the organization and its participating states. It is for this reason that there is more than one OSCE in Central Asia trying to meet the different needs of the area.