Alexander Cooley, a member of the Saltzman Institute and  the Tow Professor for Distinguished Scholars and Practitioners in Political Science at Barnard College, was recently quoted in two articles, for the Washington Post and for the Voice of America. Both articles discuss American negotiations with Central Asian nations to secure transit for the withdrawal of supplies and troops from Afghanistan. Dr. Cooley, an expert on Central Asia, notes in the article that the “one-off” nature of the deal encourages the countries to Afghanistan’s north to insist on high payments for transit rights. In the second article, Dr. Cooley also raises the issue of the human rights and political freedom records of the Central Asian nations with which the United States has been dealing, and how American diplomacy has decreased its pressure on these countries to reform in exchange for a greater focus on military cooperation.

The articles can be read at the Washington Post‘s website and at Voice of America‘s website.