Turkmenistan’s Political Culture 15 TURKMENISTAN’S POLITICAL CULTURE OF POSITIVE NEUTRALITY AND ITS IMPLICATIONS Dr. Saima Ashraf Kayani * & Raja Qaiser Ahmed ** Abstract After the disintegration of the Soviet Union, as elsewhere in Central Asia, the process of political transition began in Turkmenistan. The political culture that existed in Turkmenistan did not support a smooth transition from the Soviet-era political system to the configuration of democracy and state or nation-building process. To achieve its de-Russification and foreign policy objectives, Turkmenistan adopted the political culture of neutrality. It is argued that as the post-Soviet state building strategy, the concept of neutrality has promoted Turkmenistan’s interests at the national, regional and global level. The research examines the questions: One, how the political culture of neutrality helped Turkmenistan to achieve its post-Soviet stability and post- communist process of democratization. Two, what are the factors that facilitated Turkmenistan to pursue the policy of neutrality. Three, what are the criticisms on the policy of neutrality. Key words: Turkmenistan, Positive Neutrality, Political Culture, Critique Introduction “The status of neutrality is a key factor for the development of Turkmenistan’s mutually advantageous and constructive international partnership that meets the national interests as well as the goals to ensure peace, prosperity and sustainable development in the region and throughout the world”. President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov * Dr Saima Ashraf Kayani is Head Department of Defense and Diplomatic Studies, Fatima Jinnah Women University, Rawalpindi. ** Raja Qaiser Ahmed is Lecturer at School of Politics & IR, Quaid-i-Azam University Islamabad.