Adjustment Of Uzbekistan’s Foreign Policy In The Post-Karimov Era

On September 2,2016,Uzbek President Karimov,who had been in power for 27 years,passed away.The former government Prime Minister Milziyoev served as acting president and won a majority of votes in the presidential election on December5,2016,officially opening Uzbekistan’s “post-Karimov era”.During Karimov’s administration,Uzbekistan followed a "self-defending and independent" diplomatic principle.Although this principle ensured the long-term stability of the situation in Uzbekistan,it also left behind the slow development of the domestic economy,disharmonious relations with its neighboring countries in Central Asia and so on.After Milziyev took office,he began to implement a series of reforms in internal affairs and diplomacy.Milziyoyev’s adjustments in foreign policy are mainly divided into two dimensions.The first dimension is to prioritize Central Asia as a foreign policy and seek to ease relations with its neighbors and develop together.The trend reflects that Uzbekistan began to change from pursuing prestige to pursuing respect in its diplomatic orientation.The second dimension is in dealing with the relations with the great powers.Uzbekistan adheres to the principle of balanced diplomacy between the major powers and continues to develop friendly relations with the Russia 、America and china.In fact,the principle of multi-balanced diplomacy is a universal choice of Central Asian countries.System pressure and national strategic orientation jointly determine this behavior of Central Asian countries.By comparison,we can find that the relationship between the foreign policy of Milziyoyev’s administration and the foreign policy of Karimov’s era is neither a radical change nor a stipulation of the rules,but a organic unity with development.On the one hand,it is the persistence and follow-up of the basic principles of Kalimov’s foreign policy.On the other hand,in the specific diplomatic practice,the diplomatic means have been improved and adjusted according to the characteristics of the state development in the current stage.There are many reasons for the adjustment of Uzbekistan’s foreign policy.From a system perspective,the overall rise of the strength of emerging countries on a global scale has added new impetus to the construction of a fair and rational newinternational political and economic order.The Asia-Europe continent has begun to become the world economic barycenter.The internal reform,opening up,and the advancement of modernization have become a trend in Asian countries in recent years.From a national perspective,the president’s dominant position in the Uzbek power system and the weak opposition determine the president have the final decision-making power in the formulation of the major policies.In addition,the people also call for reforms to eliminate the disadvantages and improve the national welfare.From an individual perspective,Milziyoev’s rich political experience and pragmatic work style have won the trust of the people.It provided an important basis for public opinion for reform.After two years,the influence of Uzbekistan’s foreign policy adjustment has gradually emerged.On the one hand,Uzbekistan’s priority foreign policy principles in Central Asia have directly improved its peripheral diplomacy and improved its relations through continued friendly relations with the major powers and contacts with the international community.On the other hand,the adjustment of Uzbekistan’s foreign policy has indirectly boosted its own strength and has revitalized the international network of Central Asia by improving relations with its neighbors in Central Asia,thus easing the overall political atmosphere of Central Asia to promote the restart of regional integration.Of course,the adjustment of foreign policy is not smooth sailing.The pressure of domestic vested interests,the uncertainty of big country factors and the serious security situation in the region have also brought challenges to Uzbekistan’s reform.