This paper focuses on shifts in foreign energy policy in key Central Asian petrostates in the context of the global energy transition. It draws attention to the interconnections between hydrocarbon... Show moreThis paper focuses on shifts in foreign energy policy in key Central Asian petrostates in the context of the global energy transition. It draws attention to the interconnections between hydrocarbon rents, regime stability, and new foreign policy strategies in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan. The paper advances the argument that, instead of reducing economic overdependence on hydrocarbons for Central Asian petrostates, the global energy transition has spurred the desperate search for new hydrocarbon customers. This is due to the continued, and often unchecked, power of hydrocarbon elites, and leads to structural and economic distortionsthat are not easily undone, even by the current oil crash. Show less
