The United States and Central Asia in the "C5+1" framework: scope, limits and impact metrics

The aim was to analyse the strategic motives of the United States in strengthening cooperation with the Central Asian states within the “C5+1” format. The study used a comprehensive methodological approach, which included the analysis of political initiatives, the regulatory and legal framework, economic indicators, and the dynamics of US-Central Asia interaction in a comparative perspective. The research covered the evolution of the “C5+1” format since 2015, examining its development from a consultative mechanism to a multifunctional platform aimed at implementing joint projects in the fields of security, trade, infrastructure, ecology, and digitalisation. Special attention was paid to the US strategy not only in the area of modernising the legal environment and institutional reform but also in the context of its broader geopolitical strategy in Central Asia. The “C5+1” format represented a platform aimed at changing the balance of power in the region by forming alternative political and economic guidelines.