Director of @TuranCenter. Contributor to @wsj, @newsweek, @besa_center, @nypost, @novayagazeta_en, @AtlanticCouncil, etc. Focus on Eurasia and Middle East.
Washington, DC
Joined July 2023
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Joseph Epstein retweeted
Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan are seeking to capitalize on US-China AI competition without choosing sides. But can they turn great-power rivalry into lasting economic gains while competing for investment and facing mounting water constraints?
In his latest analysis, @emilavdaliani, Research Fellow at the Turan Research Center, examines the region’s AI ambitions.
Read more: turancenter.org/analysis/kaz…
Joseph Epstein retweeted
Russia is tightening its grip on Abkhazia and South Ossetia, shifting from patronage to direct administration as its influence across the South Caucasus declines.
Aleksandre Davitashvili examines how Moscow is turning Georgia’s occupied territories into its last secure foothold in the region and a potential anchor for an alternative transit corridor. Read the full analysis: turancenter.org/analysis/mos…
Iranian analysts close to the IRGC now call the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline “Hormuz 2.0.” It carries nearly half of Israel’s oil and Kazakhstan’s main route around Russia. In @Newsweek, I explain why Washington should harden it before Tehran tests it.
newsweek.com/the-worlds-othe…
Joseph Epstein retweeted
Turkey and Azerbaijan call themselves “one nation, two states.” But their alliance is facing growing tensions.
Why is Azerbaijan defying Erdogan?
In an exclusive interview, @BrucePannier speaks with political analyst @AHajizade about the growing rift.
🎥 Watch: youtu.be/FwYEB1y9vvI
Joseph Epstein retweeted
Iran may be preparing to turn the South Caucasus into a second energy chokepoint. With the Strait of Hormuz disrupted, the Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan pipeline and the region’s east–west corridors offer Tehran new sources of leverage.
Our Research Fellows @bako_kheladze and @hehsani71 examine the risks and what the West can do to deter escalation.
Read the full analysis: turancenter.org/analysis/hor…
Joseph Epstein retweeted
What makes a country a real middle power?
Military strength? Economic independence? The ability to challenge superpowers?
From Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan to Canada and Poland, we examine who holds genuine geopolitical leverage.
Based on @epsteinjos analysis in Newsweek: newsweek.com/real-middle-pow…
🎥 Watch: youtu.be/XP4w-W30PC8
#Geopolitics #MiddlePowers #TuranResearchCenter
Joseph Epstein retweeted
Turkey’s rift with Azerbaijan exposes the growing cost of balancing Islamist politics with strategic interests. Our Director @epsteinjos examines what the crisis reveals about Erdogan’s foreign policy and Turkey’s regional leadership.
Read more: turancenter.org/analysis/isl…
Joseph Epstein retweeted
It was a pleasure to feature in @i24NEWS_EN today to comment on Azerbaijan’s relations with Israel and Turkey.
Azerbaijan is Turkey’s closest ally and one of Israel’s closest partners. In 2025, it hosted the talks that gave Ankara and Jerusalem a deconfliction line over Syria. When the two decide to make up, Baku is the likeliest broker. My latest for @TheNatlInterest:
nationalinterest.org/blog/si…
Joseph Epstein retweeted
Russia is recruiting thousands of Central Asians into its war against Ukraine.
Some join for money or citizenship. Others say they were deceived, threatened or coerced.
Yet their governments have largely avoided publicly confronting Moscow over it.
Why?
Our new video is based on an analysis by journalist Grigorii Pyrlik for Turan Research Center.
Full Analysis: turancenter.org/analysis/cho…
Joseph Epstein retweeted
Our new website is live!
Explore our latest analysis, browse topics from security to critical minerals, watch our videos and explainers, subscribe to our weekly newsletter, and request interviews with our researchers.
Discover more: turancenter.org
#Geopolitics #CentralAsia
Joseph Epstein retweeted
Why is a girl’s headscarf becoming a question of national security across the Turkic world?
Azerbaijan has tightened school dress rules. Kazakhstan has constitutionalized secular education. Uzbekistan is opening more space for religion while holding the line in schools. Kyrgyzstan allows the hijab in classrooms.
FULL VIDEO: youtu.be/LkR5us9cCVk
Our new video examines where secular states draw the line — and why Turkey and Iran are part of the argument.
Based on analysis by Joseph Epstein, Director of Turan Research Center: turancenter.org/analysis/the…
#Hijab #CentralAsia #Azerbaijan #Kazakhstan #Uzbekistan #Secularism
Every country that can’t be a superpower now wants to be called a middle power. In @Newsweek, I argue the title belongs to states that built real military and economic independence like Poland, South Korea, Taiwan and Azerbaijan. Recent and loud converts like Canada and Western Europe have yet to earn it.
Read here: newsweek.com/real-middle-pow…
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The Caspian, the world's largest lake, now carries one of the few reliable trade routes between China and Europe. Russia uses the same waters to rearm Iran, and a treaty bars outside navies. Washington's partners there are Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan. My piece in @dcexaminer:
washingtonexaminer.com/op-ed…
Joseph Epstein retweeted
Cyprus has been divided since 1974.
More than five decades later, a UN buffer zone still cuts across the island — even after Turkish Cypriots elected a leader campaigning for reunification.
So why is Europe’s longest-running division still there?
Video: youtu.be/_OdADzM_91w
Based on analysis by Rafael Sattarov for Turan Research Center: turancenter.org/analysis/why…
Azerbaijan just became the latest post-Soviet Muslim nation to ban the hijab in the classroom.
In my latest for @TuranCenter, I examine why the hijab has become the point where sovereignty, national identity, secular statehood and control over religion meet.
Read here: turancenter.org/analysis/the…
Joseph Epstein retweeted
The Middle Corridor is becoming more than a transport route — it is emerging as an ecosystem connecting critical minerals, energy, electricity, and data across Eurasia.
Our Research Fellow @bako_kheladze examines what this means for the corridor’s future.
Read the full analysis here: turancenter.org/analysis/the…
#MiddleCorridor #CentralAsia #Caucasus
Joseph Epstein retweeted
Kazakhstan spent decades on the margins of Washington’s priorities.
Now Trump’s Washington wants its critical minerals, uranium, trade routes and investment deals.
How did Astana move to the front of the line?
🎥 How Kazakhstan Won Trump's Washington: youtu.be/Psnle6uH_EM
Based on an analysis by @epsteinjos, Director of Turan Research Center: turancenter.org/analysis/how…
Joseph Epstein retweeted
#UkraineAlert | "Every day Ukraine keeps fighting, Russian influence grows weaker in the countries of the ex-USSR," writes @epsteinjos.
"Nowhere is this clearer than in Armenia."
Read more ⤵️
atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/uk…
Joseph Epstein retweeted
NEW #UkraineAlert | "Every day Ukraine keeps fighting, Russian influence grows weaker in the countries of the ex-USSR," writes @epsteinjos.
"Nowhere is this clearer than in Armenia."
Read more ⤵️
atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/uk…