The new-look Uzbekistan under President Shavkat Mirziyoev continued to be the dominant story coming out of Central Asia in 2018 and Tashkent's new political posturing has also sent ripples throughout the region.
There were also plenty of (good and bad) things happening in the other Central Asian states -- Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan -- that perhaps provide some insight into what lies in store for the region in 2019.
RFE/RL's media-relations manager, Muhammad Tahir, moderated a discussion that looked at some of the key events in Central Asia in 2018 and what they might mean for the next 12 months.
It's a broad topic that merits hours, not minutes, of discussion.
So, we brought in two people who have been watching Central Asia for many years: Joanna Lillis, an Almaty-based, longtime correspondent for EurasiaNet and author of the recently published Dark Shadows: Inside The Secret World of Kazakhstan; and Luca Anceschi, professor of Central Asian Studies at Glasgow University and author of Turkmenistan's Foreign Policy: Positive Neutrality And The Consolidation Of The Turkmen Regime. As usual, I was also happy to take part in the conversation.
Listen to the podcast above or subscribe to the Majlis on iTunes.
