(PONARS Eurasia Policy Memo) In the past decade, Chinese universities have been inviting mid- and senior-level military officers from Central Asia and other countries in Eurasia. Chinese military education programs are especially attractive to officers from Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, which have limited access to Russian military training. For now, Russian military education still dominates in Central Asia, but in the long term, Chinese options are likely to become more attractive. By contrast, in Eastern Europe and the South Caucasus, officers are invited to professional military education (PME) options in the United States and Europe. Western, Russian, and Chinese academies offer different perspectives on global security and war, but only the Western programs expand critical thinking skills. If they are left with only Chinese and Russian options, Central Asian military leaders will be disadvantaged in comparison to others in the post-Soviet neighborhood.
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