Central Asia (Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan)1 at the turn of the XX-XXI centuries, it became the object of increased attention of world economic and political centers. This trend is due to the development of active competition between major regional and global powers for influence in the region; numerous cross-border threats and challenges emanating from it; and proven hydrocarbon reserves. The future of the region is uncertain. It depends on external factors, political stability, and the degree of internal integration. Key words: Central Asia; regional integration; foreign policy vector of development; Russia, the USA and the EU; Islamic world; China and the Asia-Pacific region; regionalism. For the global economy, Central Asia (CA) is primarily interesting as a source of raw materials. In the political sphere, for international players, the agenda includes such threats as the export of instability, terrorism and religious extremism, drug trafficking, migration, etc. In modern Central Asia, the struggle of external forces takes the form of competition between various integration projects supported by various non-regional forces. An important part of these projects is the struggle for the direction of transport communications, and especially pipelines. Each international region is characterized by a different structure of formal and informal institutions. The former include international law, charters and decisions of the UN and other international organizations, and bilateral and multilateral treaties. The second category includes identity, cultural and civilizational norms and value systems of the region, and traditions of interaction developed in the course of historical development. As for the post-Soviet space, a number of Western and some Russian researchers believe that it is disintegrating, and its member states are "attracted" to other international regions, which, according to Dmitry Trenin, a well-known political scientis ... Читать далее