| In the present time,there are five republics that make up Central Asia: Tajikistan,Kyrgyzstan,Uzbekistan,Kazakhstan,and Turkmenistan.The Republic of Uzbekistan’s foreign relations structures were established as a result of the country’s early development of the conceptual and constitutional-legal underpinnings of its foreign policy.In response to emerging threats and challenges,the Republic of Uzbekistan’s foreign policy continuously refines its conceptual and legislative underpinnings.The Uzbek Republic holds memberships in more than one hundred international organizations.These include organizations with a lot of authority like the UN,SCO,CIS,CSTO,etc.There is growing close collaboration with NATO and the European Union.Establishing comprehensive ties with various countries on the principles of equal partnership and mutual respect allows Uzbekistan to successfully integrate into the system of world economic relations and carry out active international political,economic,scientific,technical and cultural cooperation.Building and reinforcement of comprehensive cooperation and ties with neighbouring states,particularly those in the region,is the foremost priority of Uzbekistan’s foreign policy.The most crucial prerequisite for Central Asian peace,political stability,economic growth,and prosperity is the further strengthening of regional cooperation.Uzbekistan aims to enrich itself with qualitatively new content by actively and continuously cultivating relations with the West,the Asia-Pacific region,Southeast Asia,and South Asia.The United States and other North and South American countries,in particular,are cooperating more and more with Uzbekistan.Following its declaration of independence,Uzbekistan was able to start direct communication with Muslim nations in Asia,the Middle East,and other regions where their cultures,religions,and customs are similar.Positive dynamics are also present in the development of Uzbekistan’s economic relations with these nations.Cooperation with the CIS nations is another crucial area.Within this framework,member states can coordinate their stances to achieve both shared and individual national interests on a multilateral and bilateral basis.As Uzbekistan enters the global market,its entire political,economic,and social landscape is undergoing reform and renewal.Without a pre-made model for socioeconomic transformation,the republic has set out on the path of market transformation.In addition to modernizing the state’s economy,it was imperative to develop entirely new strategies and procedures for integrating it into international trade while taking the unique features of the nation into consideration.In 2012,in order to further improve the conceptual framework of Uzbekistan’s foreign policy,timely and adequate response to threats and challenges in the region and the world as a whole,strengthening the country’s national security was approved.The Concept states that Uzbekistan pursues a non-military,non-political policy and that it retains the right to leave any interstate organization in the event that it becomes a military-political bloc.In addition to refusing to permit the establishment of foreign military bases and facilities on its territory,Uzbekistan is taking political,economic,and other steps to avoid becoming embroiled in hostilities or creating tense situations for its neighbours.The study is aimed at finding an answer to the following question: how to respond to the challenges facing Uzbekistan’s external cooperation on non-traditional security threats? It is better when it comes to formulate two sub-questions for more clarification:-What external cooperation has been made by Uzbekistan to respond to nontraditional security threats?-What challenges exist in Uzbekistan’s external cooperation on non-traditional security?Globalization,shifting centers of gravity,the threat of international terrorism,growing disagreements between different states,issues of regional and national security require taking adequate measures.Uzbekistan’s foreign policy is a topic of great interest.The diversity of viewpoints,however,also leads to a great deal of debate regarding the foreign policy of the new Uzbekistan and how it differs fundamentally from that of the past few years.We can talk with considerable confidence today about the phenomenon of Uzbekistan’s new foreign policy.A thorough analysis of the Central Asian region through the lens of geopolitical guidance suggests that Uzbekistan’s foreign policy has some very unique characteristics when it comes to its representation and emphasis on non-traditional security threats.The unstable situation in Afghanistan has caused threats both to the national security of Uzbekistan and to the entire Central Asian region.As a result,the authorities of Uzbekistan,having set themselves the task of combating security threats,have formed an appropriate foreign policy,in which one of the important directions is the confrontation with non-traditional security problems.The inability of Uzbekistan to independently resolve problems with national and regional security pushes it to cooperate with great powers like the United States,the Russian Federation and then also with China.At the same time,Tashkent considers as an important the role of various international organizations,such as the SCO,in eliminating security threats in Central Asia that strengthens Uzbekistan’s participation in multilateral negotiations.In addition,Uzbekistan’s vital need for consolidation with neighbors to enhance the effectiveness of the fight against non-traditional security problems in its region forces the new president of the republic to establish a strong dialogue with the leaders of other Central Asian countries.Collaborating with major powers and international organizations,such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization,can be an appropriate way for Uzbekistan to demonstrate how unique its foreign policy is overall.And this is the unique approach that Uzbekistan’s foreign policy has put forth to address non-traditional security issues through collaboration within the framework of bilateral and multilateral relations with other nations.For this reason,Uzbekistan was selected,and the theoretical aspect of its role in fending off threats to non-traditional security was explained.Considering its geographic location as a middle power,it is clear that Uzbekistan,which shares borders with Afghanistan and all of the Central Asian republics,is able to pursue a distinct foreign policy in the area.Tashkent feels less of an impact from major powers because Uzbekistan’s neighbouring nations prevent it from having direct border connections with other large nations.This proves that Uzbekistan has a more balanced foreign policy than its neighbours,but it does not in any way imply that it has a fairly independent foreign policy.Tashkent is able to create a multi-vector geopolitical picture of its country because of the active participation of numerous politically and economicallyXsignificant powers in Uzbekistan’s foreign policy when dealing with non-traditional security threats in Central Asia.In fact,Uzbekistan’s unique foreign policy and unique approach to forging relations with nuclear powers are evident in the country’s actual actions.Owing to its unique position,Uzbekistan works with important allies to preserve equilibrium.Uzbekistan has the ability and voice among Central Asian nations to address regional non-traditional security threats on an international scale because of its distinct geopolitical features and goals.Uzbekistan’s cooperation with international organizations regarding threats to non-traditional security appears to be quite noteworthy.By using this strategy,the number of nations that can consult and decide on common security measures in Central Asia has increased.In addition,this is another move by Uzbekistan to fortify its distinct foreign policy stance of preserving multi-vector relations in the face of non-traditional security threats.At the same time,Uzbekistan’s international cooperation to counter nontraditional security threats in Central Asia is not,for the most part,an easy process.Due to various geopolitical and socio-economic reasons,difficulties arise in the relationship between Uzbekistan and large external regional powers that slow down the task of strengthening security in the designated region.Due to various historical,territorial and natural resource disagreements between the republics in Central Asia,the process of developing and strengthening cooperation to counter non-traditional security threats seems complex.In the multi-vector direction,there is enormous potential to counter nontraditional security threats.However,in parallel with this,often,the participants of such relations have contradictions in matters of choosing political,economic and socio-ideological paths of development to form methods of countering existing regional and global security threats.Resolving the majority of the issues associated with the aforementioned difficulties will assist Uzbekistan in achieving a high level of security in the country and in the region.In this research,it is necessary to use the case study method.This method is very important to analyze the problems which are the reasons for the Uzbek authorities in the formation of an appropriate foreign policy.It seems necessary to use explanatory case studies in order to identify how and why such threats as regional terrorism,the spread of drugs and the unstable border with Afghanistan affect the formation of foreign policy in Uzbekistan.In addition,it is planned to resort to descriptive case studies to identify more significant events in the process of influencing the abovementioned factors on the development of Uzbekistan’s foreign policy.Besides,there is an intention to use literature research methods,which consist of unstructured qualitative analysis and structured quantitative analysis methods(content analysis).Comparative-historical methods allow us to consider periodically recurring political processes in Uzbekistan,which are closely related to the international situation of a particular stage of development of this state.Through the systematic method,it will be possible to consider the foreign policy of Uzbekistan as a complex process,noting the development of the main elements in their interdependence.Documents and events listed below will contribute to study more effectively the process of shaping the foreign policy of Uzbekistan: Constitution of the Republic of Uzbekistan,Section I.Basic principles 08.12.1992;The Law of Uzbekistan Republic“On Approval of the Concept of the Republic of Uzbekistan’s Foreign Policy” in2012;Action strategies for the five priority areas of development of Uzbekistan for the period from 2017 to 2021;official speeches of Presidents Karimov and Mirziyoyev,etc.This research can help us to better understand the process and features of Uzbekistan’s foreign policy response to the threats of non-traditional security,existing in Central Asia.The thesis describes the essence of Uzbekistan’s foreign policy,based on the securitization theory of Barry Buzan.In addition,the study attempts to confirm the importance of the non-traditional security threats’ role in shaping the foreign policy of Uzbekistan by the examples of its cooperation with various groups of states and international organizations.The results of this research can serve as recommendations for the scientific community in the further study of this field.Also this work can become a scientific resource for university students to improve their knowledge and research skills.In this thesis,it is planned to present options for resolving some of the existing challenges that Uzbekistan faces in countering threats of non-traditional security.The dissertation is divided into seven chapters.The first chapter is devoted to the introduction of this study,where are consistently stated the research questions,XII methodology,hypothesis,etc.Then,the second chapter of the dissertation demonstrates the theoretical part based on Barry Buzan’s theory of securitization.Some sectors of securitization theory are taken into account,such as the political: the principle of state sovereignty;the threat of encroachment on the authority of the country or its authority.At the same time,an emphasis is placed on the analysis of economic and social sectors of securitization theory.In addition,this chapter provides a description of non-traditional security threats.At the end of this chapter,a brief description of the contribution to the study of the theoretical basis is provided based on the results of the analysis of Uzbekistan’s international cooperation in countering non-traditional security threats,based on its multi-vector foreign policy.The third chapter observes the implications of non-traditional security threats for Uzbekistan,with an emphasis on regional terrorism,Afghan drug trafficking in Uzbekistan and insecurity on the Afghan-Uzbek border due to cross-border crime.The chapter provides certain maps,tables and statistics regarding the situation surrounding the existing challenges for Uzbekistan in this region.Then the emphasis is placed on the internal policy of the authorities of a given republic to counter threats to nontraditional security.Chapter four describes Uzbekistan’s external cooperation on nontraditional security threats,which are classified into a number of categories,including bilateral relations with major external powers,intra-regional relations,and international multi-vector relations.For each of the selected partner states of Uzbekistan and international organizations for cooperation in combating challenges in Central Asia,a separate description is given and their relations with Tashkent are analyzed.The fifth chapter attempts to identify the challenges facing Uzbekistan’s external cooperation on non-traditional security threats.Here,also,by analogy with the previous chapter,a division was made into bilateral and multilateral cooperation.This chapter notes the special role of international,both universal(UN)and regional(SCO,EU)organizations in cooperation with Tashkent in countering threats to nontraditional security.Chapter six presents solutions to the challenges facing Uzbekistan’s external cooperation on non-traditional security threats.This chapter provides certain proposals for the formation of better and more trusting relations between Uzbekistan and specified partner countries and international organizations.The opinion of experts is given on the issues of resolving existing difficulties in the international cooperation of Uzbekistan to resolve existing threats in Central Asia and,on the basis of that an investigative analysis is carried out in order to create better options for strengthening the relations described above.The last chapter of this dissertation formulates a big conclusion,at the end of which the confirmation and supplementation of securitization theory is described.Research into Uzbekistan’s cooperation with great powers and international organizations is presented as a statement of the securitization theory’s validity.At the end,a large analysis is carried out to make a conclusion of this study,and a list of recommendations is compiled.These recommendations were grouped depending on the type and level of Uzbekistan’s cooperation to combat non-traditional security threats.Much attention was paid to the internal policy of Uzbekistan regarding the measures used by the republic’s leadership to counter indicators of threats to non-traditional security.In addition,considerable attention was devoted to developing recommendations on issues of cooperation between Tashkent and international organizations such as the SCO,the EU and the CIS. |
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