About Crossroads Central Asia
Crossroads Central Asia is an independent research institute based in Bishkek. Founded in 2011, it produces research and analysis on Central Asia from within the region, and works with partners on joint projects that bring Central Asian expertise into international debates on the region.
What we do
Our research covers the region’s politics, foreign relations, economy and regional cooperation. We publish commentaries on current developments and longer analytical papers, many written by scholars from the region, and we publish selectively, when there is something worth saying.
Alongside publishing, CCA designs and delivers research projects with international partners. These have ranged from field research on kinship networks and small business in Kyrgyzstan to policy research on carbon pricing, and most recently a programme on social cohesion and public policy in Central Asia and the Caucasus, including a series of summer schools that concluded in Dortmund in 2026. See our projects →
CCA also convenes scholars and practitioners. Its 2020 conference on thirty years of Central Asia’s international relations brought together researchers from across the region, Russia, the United States and the United Kingdom.
People
CCA’s work draws on its team and a network of research fellows based in Central Asia and Europe. Meet the team and fellows →
Partners and funders
CCA’s projects have been supported by the Volkswagen Foundation, the Hollings Center for International Dialogue, the CAREC Institute, UNDP in the Kyrgyz Republic with support from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, the UK Department for International Development through the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and the Soros Foundation Kyrgyzstan.
Institutional partners include the European Neighbourhood Council in Brussels, the OSCE Academy in Bishkek and Evidence Central Asia.
Funding and independence
CCA is a non-profit organisation funded through grants for specific projects. It sets its own research agenda, and its publications reflect the views of their authors.
The name
The name carries more than one meaning. Central Asia sits where the interests of Russia, China, Europe and other powers meet, much as it once sat on the routes between empires. It is also at a crossroads in its own history: thirty-five years after independence, the Soviet legacy is still being re-examined, and the region’s political and economic models are still taking shape. And it has long been a place where languages and traditions mix, which is why we favour nuance over simplification. The institute’s aim is to bring Central Asian and international scholarship together on the questions this position raises.
For inquiries, collaborations, or media requests: office@crossroads-ca.org