Power, Connectivity, and Competition in Central Asia

Central Asia sits at the crossroads of major powers and regional systems, linking Russia, China, the Middle East, and South Asia. Long framed through the lens of the “Great Game,” the region remains central to contemporary discussions of energy, infrastructure, and geopolitical competition.

In this program, you will travel through key urban and historical centers while engaging regional dynamics through coursework, site visits, and expert perspectives. Learning is grounded in direct experience—moving across cities and borders while observing how political, economic, and cultural systems operate in practice, and how Russian functions as a shared language across diverse environments.

By the end of the program, you will be able to analyze Central Asia as part of a broader Eurasian system shaped by competing interests and evolving connections.

What You Study

Strategic Geography and Connectivity

You will examine how Central Asia’s location shapes its role as a bridge between regions. You will explore infrastructure corridors, trade routes, and competing visions of connectivity that link the region to global markets.

Strategic Balancing and State Agency

You will analyze how Central Asian states balance relationships with Russia, China, and other external actors. You will consider how governments maintain autonomy through multi-vector strategies, navigating dependence, cooperation, and competition.

Energy and Resource Politics

You will explore how oil, gas, and other resources influence domestic policy and international relations. You will assess how energy infrastructure and export routes shape regional power dynamics.

Security and Regional Stability

You will investigate sources of instability, including border disputes, governance challenges, and external security pressures. You will consider how regional and international actors respond to evolving risks.

Russian as a Regional Lingua Franca

Each Central Asian country has its own national language, while Russian remains widely used as a shared language across the region. You will understand how Russian functions in cities, institutions, and cross-border exchange, while developing practical skills within a multilingual environment.

Rethinking the “New Great Game”

You will critically assess dominant geopolitical narratives. You will move beyond simplified competition frameworks to understand cooperation, agency, and the complexity of regional interactions.

Who This Program Is For

Are you interested in geopolitics, international relations, or how regions navigate pressure from larger powers? Are you ready to move beyond simplified narratives and understand the reality on the ground?

This program is well suited for students of international relations, political science, security studies, and related fields, as well as those interested in energy, development, or regional studies. It is also a strong fit if you want to build or apply Russian language skills in a real-world, multilingual environment. No prior experience with Central Asia is required—only a willingness to engage analytically with a complex and evolving region.

Program Details

Core Program Courses

The New Great Game

This course examines Central Asia through and beyond the traditional framework of the “Great Game,” exploring how the region fits into contemporary geopolitical dynamics. It introduces key concepts such as sovereignty, great power competition, and the role of small states in international systems. The course also addresses practical themes including connectivity, energy politics, regional cooperation, and security, highlighting how Central Asian states navigate external pressures through strategies of balancing, cooperation, and selective alignment. 3 credits

RUSS 293/393/493 Russian as a Second Language

Courses at multiple levels—from elementary to advanced—develop practical communication skills through small classes and interactive instruction. As you build listening, speaking, reading, and writing abilities, you will engage with Russian as a working regional language widely used across Central Asia in public life, professional settings, and cross-cultural interaction. The course situates language learning within a multilingual environment shaped by historical continuity and contemporary regional exchange.12 credits / Prerequisite – at least 2 semesters of college-level Russian (or equivalent)

Contact us for course syllabi.

Other Language Electives

While we caution against overloading, it is possible to add one more Russian language elective to your study plan.

  • Phonetics for Beginners. Prereq – none
  • Phonetics through Soviet Cartoons. Prereq of at least 2 semesters of Russian
  • Russian through Fairy Tales and Cartoons. Prereq of at least 4 semesters of Russian
  • The Golden Age of Russian Literature. Prereq of at least 4 semesters of Russian
  • Kyrgyz Culture & Traditions. Prereq of at least 5 semesters of Russian
  • Russian through Central Asian News. Prereq of at least 6 semesters of Russian
  • Literature and Film of Central  Asia. Prereq of at least 6 semesters of Russian
  • Politics and Economy of Central Asia. Prereq of at least 6 semesters of Russian
  • Advanced Phonetics and Phraseology. Prereq of at least 6 semesters of Russian
  • Regional History – Kyrgyzstan. Prereq of at least 7 semesters of Russian
  • Kyrgyz Language. No prereq, but not advised to take both Kyrgyz and Russian at beginning level.
  • Other languages (Kazakh, Uzbek, Arabic, Tajik). Per availability of instructor, all levels, not advised to take in parallel with beginning Russian.
Contact us for course syllabi.

Partner School

The London School of Languages and Cultures is a well-established private language school founded in 1998. The school has worked with the UNDP, the US Embassy, and various USAID projects. On campus, foreigners studying Russian and Central Asian languages mix with locals learning English. Centrally located, the school is surrounded by cafes, museums, shopping, theatres, churches, mosques, and more.

Transcripts and Credit Transfer

The School of Record for this program is University of Montana (Missoula, MT USA). A US School of Record means that your program is supported by and documented by an accredited US university, making credit transfer relatively routine.

For more on transcripts, credit transfer, and other academic issues, click here.

Contact us for course syllabi and more information about what appears on your transcript.

Understanding Central Asia requires engaging with movement across space—across cities, landscapes, and historical routes that have long connected regions and empires. Travel is integrated into the academic structure of the program and forms a central component of your field-based learning.

Throughout the program, you will examine how geography, infrastructure, and history shape contemporary political and cultural dynamics. Site visits, workshops, and meetings with local experts connect classroom themes—such as connectivity, strategic balancing, and regional exchange—to lived realities on the ground.

Based in Bishkek, you will explore Kyrgyzstan’s urban and natural environments while traveling onward to neighboring countries to compare how different states navigate shared regional systems.

Kyrgyzstan

Based in Bishkek, you will engage with the country’s political, cultural, and historical landscape through excursions that connect past and present.

Travel may include:

  • Ata-Beyit Memorial — historical memory and the legacy of Soviet repression
  • Burana Tower (Balasagun) — Silk Road history and regional connectivity
  • Issyk-Ata Gorge — Soviet-era infrastructure and layered historical presence
  • Bishkek city tour and architecture walk — urban development and Soviet legacies
  • National History Museum — state formation and national identity
  • cultural workshops (crafts, cooking, music) — everyday traditions and cultural continuity
  • Issyk-Kul region (weekend) — geography, mobility, and cultural traditions, including lake environments, yurt building, eagle hunting, and mountain landscapes
Kazakhstan (approximately 4 days)

In Almaty, you will explore Central Asia’s largest urban economy and its role in regional development and international connectivity.

Travel may include:

  • Kok-Tobe — geography and urban development
  • Panfilov Park and city center — historical memory and public space
  • Museum of Almaty and Almaty Museum of Arts — local history and cultural expression
  • Tselinny Contemporary Art Center — post-Soviet identity and contemporary culture
  • Green Market — everyday economic life and regional exchange
  • Terrenkur walking area — urban planning and environment
  • Shymbulak Ski Resort — tourism and mountain infrastructure
  • Narxoz University visit and lunch with students — higher education and youth perspectives
  • Smart Point co-working space — entrepreneurship and emerging economic networks
Uzbekistan (approximately 9 days)

In Uzbekistan, you will trace historical and contemporary routes of exchange across some of Central Asia’s most significant cultural centers.

Travel may include:

  • Tashkent — political center and post-Soviet development
  • Samarkand — Silk Road legacy and global connectivity
  • Bukhara — religious life and historical trade networks
  • Khiva — preserved urban environment and historical memory
  • guided site visits and city tours — architecture, empire, and cultural continuity
  • guest lecture — Uzbekistan’s foreign policy, economic development, and regional positioning

These experiences will allow you to move across borders and landscapes while comparing how Central Asian states engage with shared histories, resources, and external influences. Through travel, you will gain a deeper understanding of the region as an interconnected system shaped by mobility, exchange, and strategic positioning.

Russian remains the primary language of higher education, business, and interethnic communication across much of Central Asia. While local languages such as Kyrgyz and Kazakh are widely spoken and central to national identity, Russian continues to function as a shared language across borders, institutions, and professional environments.

In Bishkek, you will encounter Russian not only in the classroom, but in daily life—in universities, markets, media, and public spaces. This makes the city an ideal environment for developing practical language skills while observing how language operates within a multilingual and post-Soviet context.

Studying Russian in Central Asia also offers a distinct perspective compared to other regions. Here, you engage with the language as it is used across diverse societies shaped by mobility, historical continuity, and regional exchange. This allows you to build proficiency while gaining insight into how language supports communication, cooperation, and everyday interaction across the region.

Dormitory:The newly renovated dorm is conveniently located next to the building where you will have classes and features a kitchen, food storage space, and a common area for socializing.

Home stays are anywhere from 15-50 minutes commute from class, but this commute itself can provide an opportunity for learning. More than in other SRAS locations, host families in Bishkek are larger, with more children and, at times, extended family living under one roof, meaning you have more extensive opportunities for language practice and cultural interaction.

The home stay supplemental cost in Bishkek, inclusive of breakfast and supper, is $1,600.

Central Asia is landlocked and sparsely populated, yet it has long been shaped by movement across space—through trade routes, migration, and empire. From the Silk Roads to modern transport corridors, the region has served as a bridge between major powers while also functioning as a strategic buffer and zone of competition. These overlapping roles continue to influence how Central Asian states engage with the wider world today.

Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan’s capital, offers a practical vantage point for exploring these dynamics. The city reflects layers of Russian imperial and Soviet influence alongside deep-rooted local traditions. Wide boulevards, public spaces, and cultural institutions sit alongside bazaars, cafés, and everyday expressions of Kyrgyz identity, creating an environment where historical legacies and contemporary life intersect.

Beyond the city, mountain landscapes, lakes, and rural communities highlight the region’s geographic diversity and the continued relevance of mobile and semi-nomadic traditions. Together, these elements make Bishkek an accessible and revealing base for understanding Central Asia as a connected and evolving region.

Find out more about:

Kyrgyzstan:

Uzbekistan:

Central Asia:

Budget Breakdown

Scholarships and Grants

  • Federal aid can help pay for your program if your university pre-approves credit transfer and agrees to manage payment. Check with SRAS and your university for details.
  • All Scholarships and Grants that we know of that can be applied to our programs are listed on our site.  Contact SRAS for assistance in building your strogest application!
  • SRAS Program Grants are stackable! 
  • SRAS Ambassadors can write while abroad or educate students at home after their return – and earn stipends!
  • SRAS Online Research Internships award partial scholarships for study abroad.
  • Boren Awards: This program is compatible with Boren requirements. Contact us about how to build your strongest application for Boren funding!

  1. Complete our application (press the “Apply Now” button to create your SRAS account — you will be able to return to the application later).
  2. Alert your home university (if you are currently a student).
    Some universities have deadlines for study abroad that are much earlier than SRAS deadlines -— so involve your home university’s study abroad office in the process as early as possible! They can help ensure that all goes smoothly with credit transfer and financial aid, and perhaps point you to additional funding sources.
  3. See our Planning Guide for more important information about academics, health and safety, and more.

If you are still unsure this is the right program for you, please join an SRAS Info Session or schedule an SRAS advising session to discuss how we can help fulfill your goals and needs!