Book Review: The Central Asian Economies in the Twenty-First Century: Paving a New Silk Road

Central Asian “-stan” countries, namely, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, declared their independence in the same year, 1991. The countries chose diverse ways of transition from centrally planned to the market-based economic system. Today, it is time to assess the result of those diverse transition ways. In this regard, the book of Professor Richard Pomfret narrates the story of the Central Asian (CA) economy based on accurate key dates, notable events, statistical numbers, and facts. Analysis toward each country shows a neutral stance as the author himself is from neither CA country. The book has three main parts. “The Background” talks about challenges and opportunities for creating a marketbased economy in CA. The second part, “The National Economies,” visits each economy of five CA states one-byone and uniquely analyzes them. A reader finds regional problems and opportunities, other countries interest in CA and forgoing new Silk Road projects in the last “The External Context,” part.