Central Asian Survey is the only established peer reviewed, multi-disciplinary journal in the world concerned with the history, politics, cultures, religions, and economies of the Central Asian and Caucasian regions. Original articles, review essays, and book reviews published in Central Asian Survey reflect advances made by social sciences and humanities scholars who ground their research in: the former Soviet republics of Central Asia, the North Caucasus, and the South Caucasus; Chinese Xinjiang, Mongolia, Afghanistan, Iran, and Turkey, as relate to Central Asia.

The journal spotlights work that illuminates the processes of local and regional change which make Central Asia and the Caucasus areas of great interest in both pre-modern and contemporary contexts.