Abstract
The article examines the role of transport connectivity in the development of cross-border cooperation among the Central Asian countries. It begins by noting the Eurocentric nature of existing research in this area and highlights the distinctiveness of the Central Asian context characterized by authoritarian political centralization, landlocked geography, a prominent role of transit, and rapid demographic growth in many border areas. The study emphasizes that physical proximity does not guarantee the intensity of cooperation between neighboring territories – partly due to natural barriers such as deserts in the west and mountains in the east that limit cooperation in large parts of the region. The most intensive cross-border cooperation is observed in two areas: between parts of Kazakhstan’s Turkestan and Zhambyl provinces and adjacent territories of Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, respectively, as well as in the Fergana Valley. Strong functional cross-border linkages between major cities – such as Tashkent and Shymkent, or Almaty and Bishkek – also foster cooperation beyond what might be expected based on geographical distance alone. Central Asian states have initiated efforts to develop new transport corridors and build logistics hubs at their borders, aiming to support both intraregional and interregional connectivity. However, these efforts remain limited in scale and have not yet produced substantial results.