Authors

Discussion

Abstract

The foreign policy of the Republic of Tajikistan remains underexplored in international relations and post-Soviet studies, despite its strategic importance within Central Asia. As a landlocked, resource-constrained state facing complex regional dynamics, Tajikistan provides a compelling case for analysing how small states navigate competing external influences while pursuing sovereignty, development, and security objectives.

This paper examines how Tajikistan employs bilateral and multilateral cooperation mechanisms, particularly through the strategic sectors of energy and water, to advance its foreign policy goals and strengthen its regional position. It focuses on the Rogun Hydropower Plant as a central empirical case, conceptualising it not merely as an infrastructure project but as a multifaceted foreign policy instrument. Rogun serves as a platform for regional negotiation, international engagement, and state-building, intersecting with issues of energy diplomacy, transboundary water governance, and national identity construction.

Drawing on a qualitative case study methodology, the research analyses diplomatic interactions with key regional and extra-regional actors, including Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Russia, China, and international financial institutions such as the World Bank. It also explores Tajikistan’s participation in multilateral frameworks and how these platforms contribute to enhancing its legitimacy and bargaining power within Central Asia.

By situating Tajikistan’s foreign policy within broader theoretical debates on resource diplomacy, and regional governance, this paper contributes to a more nuanced understanding of how strategic sectors function as tools of international engagement in the post-Soviet space. The findings highlight the adaptive strategies employed by Tajikistan to balance asymmetric power relations, manage regional interdependence, and leverage multilateral cooperation in a contested geopolitical environment.

The paper is relevant to scholars of international relations, Eurasian studies, and energy and water politics, and aligns closely with BASEES 2026’s focus on contemporary political and economic transformations in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union.