Russia, the U.S., and China all see Central Asia as strategically important and have devoted extensive financial and human resources there. In Great Games, Local Rules, Alexander Cooley, one of America's leading younger international relations scholars, explores the dynamics of the new competition for influence over the region since 9/11.

Chapter 1: The New Multipolar Politics of Influence in Central Asia ; Chapter 2: Local Rules: The Origins and Politics of Central Asian Regime Survival ; Chapter 3: Washington's Strategy: Juggling Interests and Values on the Road to Afghanistan ; Chapter 4: Moscow's Strategy: The Quest for a Privileged Role ; Chapter 5: Beijing's Strategy: The SCO, Xinjiang and China's Great Leap Westward ; Chapter 6: Anti-Terrorism, Democratization and Human Rights ; Chapter 7: Geopolitical Competition and Political Stability: The Case of Kyrgyzstan ; Chapter 8: Corruption and Governance: Competition and Collusion in Contracting ; Chapter 9: Regional Integration: So Many Proposals, So Little Cooperation ; Chapter 10: Conclusion: Central Asia's Multipolar Politics in Comparative Perspective ; Appendix 1: Laws Passed after Color Revolutions that Introduced New Restrictions on NGOs ; and the Media ; Appendix 2: Election Monitor Assessments, ODIHR/SCO/CIS

"The borderlands of Central Asia are plagued with terrorism, poverty and an immense power struggle for the land mass of Asia. The region is ripe for large scale economic and political unrest. Cooley combines scholarship with expertise and great skill as a writer to give us by far the best analysis of Central Asia during the past decadeELA well-conceived and comprehensive work."--Ahmed Rashid, author of Taliban and Pakistan on the Brink "Central Asia remains the enigmatic heartland of geopolitics. As Alex Cooley's important book demonstrates, no great power-the U.S., Russia nor China-has yet mastered the art of negotiating with a host of crafty patrimonial regimes who dictate resources, contracts and access as much as the reverse. This is a region that must, therefore, be understood from the inside out, rather than during the first iteration of the Great Game in the 19th century. As it did with the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Central Asia could still create a perfect geopolitical storm as ossified political systems undergo transition, American bases are vacated, and energy pipelines extend in all directions. The 21st century Great Game will have both new players and new rules."--Parag Khanna, author of The Second World: Empires and Influence in the New Global Order and How to Run the World: Charting a Course to the Next Renaissance "Alex Cooley knows his stuff. With objective and penetrating research and analysis, Cooley peels away the fog and shadow that have always obscured this prime geopolitical region."--Steve LeVine, author of The Oil and the Glory "A book with multi-faceted value. Great Games, Local Rules provides in-depth analysis of a key yet understudied region, and does so informed by history, imbued with international relations theory, and bearing on key policy issues, all from a well-respected scholar."--Bruce W. Jentleson, Professor of Public Policy and Political Science, Duke University "The field of Central Asian studies needs this book. Cliché-ridden thinking blights much popular commentary on the region and the putative competition under way there among China, Russia, and the United States. Cooley brings firsthand research and a detached, sensible eye to a complex, fast-moving subject..."--Foreign Affairs "...an exceptional and critical analysis. Cooley's book offers the prospect of a new research agenda to study the international politics of Central Asia in terms of both its powerful and misleading discourses and its corrupt and profitable practices. It is an important book that deserves to be widely read among scholars of IR who seek to make sense of what 'multipolarity' means today."--International Affairs "...wide-ranging and compelling..."--Survival

Selling point: Highly original analysis of one of the hottest "hot spots" in world politics: Central Asia Selling point: Will be of interest to any reader interested in how the US, China, and Russia contend with each other when pursuing interests in one region Selling point: The pending US pullout in Afghanistan is sure to reconfigure the power dynamics of the region in 2012-2014 Selling point: Author is a dynamic and well known regional expert with government experience Selling point: Highly original analysis of one of the hottest "hot spots" in world politics: Central Asia Selling point: Will be of interest to any reader interested in how the US, China, and Russia contend with each other when pursuing interests in one region Selling point: The pending US pullout in Afghanistan is sure to reconfigure the power dynamics of the region in 2012-2014

Alexander Cooley is the Tow Professor for Distinguished Scholars and Practitioners in the Department of Political Science at Barnard College, Columbia University. His books include Contracting States, Logics of Hierarchy, and Base Politics.

Selling point: Highly original analysis of one of the hottest "hot spots" in world politics: Central Asia Selling point: Will be of interest to any reader interested in how the US, China, and Russia contend with each other when pursuing interests in one region Selling point: The pending US pullout in Afghanistan is sure to reconfigure the power dynamics of the region in 2012-2014 Selling point: Author is a dynamic and well known regional expert with government experience Selling point: Highly original analysis of one of the hottest "hot spots" in world politics: Central Asia Selling point: Will be of interest to any reader interested in how the US, China, and Russia contend with each other when pursuing interests in one region Selling point: The pending US pullout in Afghanistan is sure to reconfigure the power dynamics of the region in 2012-2014