Uzbekistan: History, Government & Society

Uzbekistan is the pivotal swing state in Central Asia: a presidential republic whose foreign policy now centers on regime stability at home, economic opening abroad, and balancing Russia, China, the West, and regional neighbors without formal alignment to any one camp Constitution of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan, BTI Transformation Index 2026: Uzbekistan Country Report. President Shavkat Mirziyoyev remains the dominant decision-maker after winning a new term in the July 2023 presidential election, while Prime Minister Abdulla Aripov continues to run the cabinet; the Legislative Chamber’s largest pro-presidential force is the Liberal Democratic Party of Uzbekistan (UzLiDeP), which backed Mirziyoyev’s candidacy in the 2023 election Central Election Commission of Uzbekistan, Government Portal of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Inter-Parliamentary Union: Uzbekistan, Oliy Majlis. In practice, foreign-policy authority is highly centralized in the presidency, with the foreign ministry executing rather than independently setting grand strategy BTI Transformation Index 2026: Uzbekistan Country Report, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan.

Uzbekistan’s place in the world is stronger than its raw power would suggest because it sits at the center of every major Central Asian connectivity map. It borders all four other Central Asian republics plus Afghanistan, giving it unmatched regional reach in transport, electricity trade, water diplomacy, and security coordination Britannica: Uzbekistan, World Bank Overview: Uzbekistan. Tashkent has used that geography to build a “multi-vector” external posture: it is active in the UN, SCO, OIC, Non-Aligned Movement, and Organisation of Turkic States, while also deepening practical ties with the EU, United States, South Korea, Turkey, Russia, and China rather than treating these relationships as mutually exclusive Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan, Organisation of Turkic States, Shanghai Cooperation Organisation: Member States. That makes Uzbekistan less an alliance state than a hedging state, seeking autonomy through diversified partnerships.

Its economic profile explains much of that behavior. Uzbekistan had a population of about 36.8 million in 2024, the largest in Central Asia, and the World Bank reported GDP of about $115 billion in current US dollars in 2024, giving Tashkent both a large domestic market and a labor force that matters regionally World Bank Data: Population, total - Uzbekistan, World Bank Data: GDP (current US$) - Uzbekistan. The economy is driven by gold, natural gas, copper, agriculture, remittances, and a state-led industrial and infrastructure push, with gold remaining a major export earner and external buffer through the Central Bank and Navoi mining complex Observatory of Economic Complexity: Uzbekistan, World Gold Council: Central bank statistics, U.S. International Trade Administration: Uzbekistan - Country Commercial Guide. Reform since 2017 has made the economy more open to trade, investment, and currency convertibility, but the state still holds commanding influence over finance, energy, and strategic sectors World Bank Overview: Uzbekistan, EBRD: Uzbekistan country overview.

Three issues define Uzbekistan’s current trajectory. The first is controlled political and economic reform: Mirziyoyev has liberalized parts of the economy and public administration, but the political system remains tightly managed, and constitutional changes approved in 2023 reset presidential term counting in a way that can extend his rule Venice Commission Opinion on Constitutional Amendments in Uzbekistan, Freedom House: Freedom in the World 2025 - Uzbekistan. The second is regional integration, especially with Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan, where Tashkent now treats border management, trade corridors, and electricity and water coordination as core national interests rather than peripheral diplomacy The Times of Central Asia, World Bank Overview: Uzbekistan. The third is Afghanistan: Uzbekistan wants border security and suppression of extremist spillover, but it also wants rail, power, and trade links through Afghanistan to South Asia, so its policy mixes caution with sustained engagement Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan, United States Institute of Peace: Uzbekistan and the Taliban.

The result is a state that is more outward-looking and more ambitious than it was a decade ago, but not more liberal in proportion to its economic opening. Uzbekistan’s core hierarchy of interests is clear: survival and border stability first, regime security second, growth and investment third, and regional status fourth BTI Transformation Index 2026: Uzbekistan Country Report, Constitution of the Republic of Uzbekistan. For MUN delegates, the practical takeaway is that Uzbekistan usually supports sovereignty, non-interference, and pragmatic connectivity projects, but it will judge any proposal by whether it protects domestic control, preserves strategic flexibility, and