If he were alive today, Darius the Great would have cheered the commissioning by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in March of a new railway connecting their countries. The fifth century Persian king was able to dominate much of West Asia in part because he understood the strategic importance of transportation and organized one of the world’s first highways: the Royal Road. The route spanned all of modern-day Iraq and Turkey, and cut messengers’ travel times by a factor of 12.
May 10, 2017
Drugs, human smuggling, and illegal migration will remain crucial elements of life and the economy in Central Asia in the coming years, a problem only amplified by the new Silk Road.
Mar 21, 2017
The real challenge for fighting the illicit drug trade in Central Asia stems less from the supposed risks associated with opening borders or developing transport infrastructure, than from dealing with poverty and corruption.
Mar 7, 2017
Despite being characterized by high mountain ranges and desolate terrain, Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) has a rich history of civilizational exchanges. The region’s rugged topography has not stopped it from having strong linkages with the ancient Silk Road, whose southern branch connected the region with Xinjiang, China. In modern times, geostrategic interests and regional rivalries have transformed the region into a securitized zone. The de-facto Indo-Pak borders between Gilgit-Baltistan and Ladakh are dotted by flashpoints like Kargil (the site of 1999 Indo-Pak war) and Siachen (also the world’s highest battlefield). Today, GB once again finds itself at the intersection of a new Silk Road being paved by China.
Mar 3, 2017