Central Asia and Central Africa: Transnational Wars and Ethnic Conflicts.

In the former Soviet states of Central Asia, Afghanistan and its neighboring countries, and the in the Great Lakes region of Africa, conflicts have been organized around cultural identities. These identities, however, are not sub-national but transnational. They have linked groups within a state to trans-border networks that have participated in both contemporary global markets and warfare, as elements of regional conflict formations. The latter involve both non-state actors and states engaged in asymmetrical or covert warfare. Since identities constitute transnational networks, as well as sub-state collectivities, the set of policies to reduce conflict among identity groups and promote peaceful cultural diversity has to include regional and global as well as national policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]