THE CENTRAL ASIAN VECTOR OF U.S. FOREIGN POLICY IN THE FACE OF MODERN GLOBAL CHALLENGES

Since the late 20th century, Asian countries have always been in the sphere of foreign policy interests of the United States. An important place among them is occupied bythe post-Soviet countries of Central Asia. The purpose of the present article is to study the main directions of U.S. foreign policy towards the countries of Central Asia in the context of modern geopolitical changes, threats and challenges. The chronological boundaries of the article cover the period from the beginning of the Russian full-scale invasion of the territory of Ukraine in February 2022 to the end of President J. Biden’s term in early 2025. These limits are justified by recent changes in U.S. foreign policy, which are associated with the victory of D. Trump in the last presidential election and his declared beginning of an «exciting new era of national success». The article argues that in the period from 2022 to the beginning of 2025, the priority areas of the U.S. Central Asian policy included the promotion of democratic changes in the region’s countries, the formation of market relations, and the advancement of U.S. security and economic – especially energy – interests. The methodological basis of the article includes analytical and problem-chronological methods, as well as comparative analysis. In revealing the provisions of key doctrinal documents that define U.S. policy directions in Central Asia, the author employs the hermeneutic method. The scientific novelty of the article lies in its identification of main geopolitical trends and factors that influenced the evolution of U.S. foreign policy towards the countries of Central Asia after the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian war. Conclusions. The Russian-Ukrainian war that began in February 2022 radically changed the existing world order, exposing its most vulnerable points and generating new global challenges. The main conceptual principles of American foreign policy towards the countries of Central Asia are outlined in a number of doctrinal documents, the most prominent among which is the «United States Strategy for Central Asia for 2019–2025». The guiding principle of the Strategy is the recognition of Central Asia as a «geostrategic region» that is vital to the national security interests of the United States. The main competitors of the United States in the implementation of its Central Asian foreign policy are China and Russia. Following D. Trump’s victory in the most recent presidential election, U.S. foreign policy has significantly evolvedtowards «isolationism» and tough «economic pragmatism». Based on this, further research on U.S. foreign policy towards the countries of Central Asia must take into account the new realities.