Source description last updated: 1 February 2021

In brief: The Central Asia-Caucasus Institute (CACI), together with the Silk Road Studies Program, forms a joint independent, privately-funded Transatlantic Research and Policy Center that conducts research on the Central Asia and Caucasus region. The Center has offices in Washington, D.C., and Stockholm.

Coverage on ecoi.net:

Analytical and feature articles, field reports and other publications (CACI Analyst & Turkey Analyst)

Covered monthly on ecoi.net, for countries of priorities A, B and C.

Mission/Mandate/Objectives:

“The Central Asia-Caucasus Institute (CACI) was founded in 1997 to respond to the increasing need for information, research, and analysis on the vast territory of Central Eurasia stretching from Turkey to Western China, encompassing eight former Soviet republics as well as Afghanistan. The Institute’s aim has been to help bring greater attention to these regions among officials and policymakers. In 2005, CACI established a Joint Transatlantic Research and Policy Center with the Stockholm-based Silk Road Studies Program, which was created in 2002 to advance similar objectives in Europe.” (AFPC: American Foreign Policy Council – 2018-2019 Biennial Report, undated, p. 19)

The CACI became “formally affiliated with the American Foreign Policy Council [AFPC] in March 2017” (AFPC website: Programs – Central Asia-Caucasus Institute, undated), a US think tank which various sources refer to as being conservative (see, for example, Bloomberg: Hackers Target WHO by Posing as Think Tank, Broadcaster, 7 May 2020, The Intercept: How Voice of America Persian became a Trump administration PR machine, 13 August 2019 and Politico: Is Trump's 'maximum pressure' campaign blowing up in Iraq?, 31 December 2019). CACI currently constitutes one of the programmes of the AFPC (AFPC website: Programs, undated).

The joint Transatlantic Research and Policy Center seeks to achieve its objectives “through five main channels: Impartial research; publications and dissemination; forums and conferences; teaching; and acting as a ‘switchboard’ for knowledge and information.” (Silk Road Studies Program website: Mission, undated)

The joint Center publishes the Central Asia-Caucasus Analyst (CACI Analyst) (CACI Analyst website: Homepage, undated) and the Turkey Analyst (Turkey Analyst website: Homepage, undated).“[T]he Central Asia-Caucasus Analyst is a bi-weekly digital publication exploring political and security issues in the post-Soviet space”. Similarly to the CACI Analyst, “[t]he bi-weekly Turkey Analyst is a digital publication designed to bring authoritative analysis and news on [...] domestic and foreign policy issues in Turkey. It includes topical analysis, as well as a summary of the Turkish media debate [...].” (AFPC: American Foreign Policy Council – 2018-2019 Biennial Report, undated, p. 20).

Funding:

The American Foreign Policy Council (AFPC), to which the CACI is affiliated, receives donations from US citizens and US entities (AFPC website: About AFPC, undated). The Transatlantic Research and Policy Center, co-run by CACI, is privately-funded (Silk Road Studies Program website: Mission, undated). No further information could be found regarding the CACI’s funding.

Scope of reporting:

Geographic focus: Turkey, Caucasus, Southwest Asia, Central Asia, China

Thematic focus: Politics and political systems, human rights, security and conflict, development

Methodology:

„The joint Center fosters both fundamental and applied research [...] ranging from short research projects involving a sole researcher to larger, multi-year endeavors involving numerous researchers.” (Silk Road Studies Program website: Mission, undated). The articles appearing in the CACI Analyst or Turkey Analyst are authored by external researchers who may be academics (see, for example, CACI/Silk Road Studies Program: Looking Beyond Armenia's Defeat in Nagorno-Karabakh, 7 December 2020 and CACI/Silk Road Studies Program: Fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh Rages Despite Ceasefires, 22 October 2020) or independent analysts/freelance journalists (see, for example, CACI/Silk Roads Program: Georgian Dream Claims Third Consecutive Victory in Parliamentary Elections, 16 November 2020 and CACI/Silk Road Studies Program: Has Turkey Abandoned the Uighurs?, 11 November 2020). These researchers are paid a honorarium by the CACI. (CACI Analyst website: Editorial Principles, undated)

The editorial principles for the CACI Analyst can be accessed via the following link: http://www.cacianalyst.org/editorial/editorial-principles.html

The editorial principles for the Turkey Analyst can be found here: https://www.turkeyanalyst.org/editorial/editorial-principles.html

Language of publication:

English

Further reading / links:

American Foreign Policy Council: https://www.afpc.org/

The CACI-Analyst has its own website: http://www.cacianalyst.org/

So does the Turkey Analyst: https://www.turkeyanalyst.org/

All links accessed 1 February 2021.