integration process in Turkish foreign policy during the Post-Cold War Era: Central Asia and Uzbekistan

After the dissolution of the USSR, the Central Asian states gained their independence and have become focal points of various actors in terms of geopolitical importance and natural resources they have, and this area turned out to be a stage on which a struggle for dominance is performed named ?The New Great Game?. Today, as one of the countries in the region, Uzbekistan is a center and significant country of Central Asia geopolitics in particular and Eurasia geopolitics, in general. Considering its geopolitical position, the energy resources the region has, being the center of TurkishIslamic civilization and the population structure it contains, Uzbekistan is of vital importance from the point of regional and global politics. Therefore, it can be seen that, Uzbekistan is a keystone within the context of leadership struggle in Central Asia.Today, this geography, that should be given prominence with regards to economic and commercial relations, is a region that should not be neglected as part of Turkish Foreign Policy and undoubtedly it is extremely important in terms of Turkey?s regional power and role. Thus, our study aims to contribute to the point that regional cooperation especially from an economical perspective is a necessity. The content of the study includes Turkey and five Central Asian countries, and the period focused on is the post-Cold War period. Methodologically, by adopting the neoliberal institutionalist approach that particularly highlights the economic and commercial cooperation, a probability of providing a solution on the point of cooperation is asserted. As a result, it is seen that a regional integration that Turkey and Central Asian Republics are expected to achieve does not seem to be possible today. However, it is necessary to take steps especially to 271strengthen the bilateral relations by tightening the economic and commercial ties.Without doubt, in addition to the need of acting with national conscience, the need for firm and decisive steps to be taken in Turkish Foreign Policy at the right time is also stressed. Key Words:1. Integration2. Central Asia3. Uzbekistan4. Turkish Foreign Policy5. Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO)