New European Union Strategy for Central Asia: from normative power to resilience

Abstract

The new strategy emphasizes the promotion of stability, prosperity and regional cooperation. Resilience has become a key message in this strategy. It is defined as the ability of states and societies to reform, the ability to withstand internal and external crises. Resilience means switching from a top-down discourse of building liberal institutions to supporting bottom-up capacity building measures. Instead of ready-made solutions, it is proposed to redirect local resources and expertise in the right direction, thereby laying a new basis for cooperation. This article presents a new cooperation model proposed by the European Union for Central Asia. The adoption of the new EU Strategy for Central Asia shows that the EU is trying to strengthen its presence in Central Asia. In addition to active articulation of value-based norms, the EU intends to advance its main political, economic and security interests in Central Asia by proposing concrete measures. The EU links the achievement of this ultimate goal with the democratic and economic development of Central Asia. Democracy, human rights and the rule of law are seen as key components in achieving long-term stability and security, which testifies to the continuity of the normative nature of EU foreign policy.