Biden’s U.S. Foreign Policy in Central Asia: Military-Political Aspect

Introduction. This article examines the military-political aspect of the U.S. foreign policy of the Biden administration in the Central Asian region. Despite the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan in 2021, the role and international significance of Central Asia, as an area of competing interests of great powers, continue to be relevant for the United States. The strategic importance of Central Asia is determined by its natural resources and significant position in the structure of regional security in Eurasia. Methods and materials. The theory of regional complexes by B. Buzan and O. Waever is the conceptual basis of the article, in which threats of a geostrategic, military-political, and regional-economic nature determine the contours of modern security in Central Asia. Discourse analysis and quantitative data from international political indices made it possible to understand the priorities of U.S. foreign policy in the 2020s. Analysis. After the events of September 11, 2001, the United States attached optimal importance to the Central Asian region, whose states provided assistance to international forces and contributed to the anti-terrorist operation in Afghanistan. In the 2010s, the organization of the C5+1 format marked a new stage in U.S. policy towards Central Asia. The military-political aspect of bilateral contacts in the 2020s was outlined in the “US Strategy for Central Asia 2019–2025: Strengthening Sovereignty and Economic Prosperity.” Within the framework of this document, foreign policy approaches to cooperation to ensure regional security in Central Asia were determined. Results. Based on the analysis of quantitative data, it can be argued that the principles of cooperation between the United States and the states of Central Asia are preserved. Military-political cooperation is focused on reducing terrorist threats in Central Asia and is implemented through mechanisms for strengthening security services to protect national borders, as well as foreign military sales, military financing, and education programs. The foreign policy strategy of the Biden administration is built on the priorities of implementing economic cooperation programs as opposed to the military-political aspect of bilateral relations.