Knowledge Bank

The Center for Slavic and East European Studies along with the Middle East Studies Center hosted a panel on Central Asian Security May 23, 2008 at the Mershon Center for International Security. The two main speakers were Dr. Kamoludin Abdullaev, a scholar from Dushanbe, Tajikistan, and Dr. Alam Payind, Director of the Middle East Studies Center. Dr. Abdullaev spoke about the status of societal reconciliation following the Tajik Civil War (1992-1997) and what effects that has had on the regional security situation. Afghanistan and Tajikistan are at the heart of security concerns for the Central Asian region. One of the main issues is the Afghan drug trade, which traverses the former-Soviet Central Asian republics, including Tajikistan, on its way to Russia and Europe.