The Turkish government has long sought to play a role in Central Asia, where it has deep historic and ethno-linguistic ties. This started when this area was still under the rule of the Soviet Union; it expanded after the end of the Cold War and has been able to go even further in recent years as a Russia weakened by sanctions has fallen back. Alongside Turkey’s pursuit of its economic and political interests has come a growth of Islamism that has interacted with the Turkish presence, and with Turkey itself and the Syrian war, in various ways.
