The article analyses the evolution of Turkmenistan’s foreign policy in the context of the 2022 power succession, when Serdar Berdymukhammedov – the son of the incumbent president – assumed office. Since gaining independence after the collapse of the USSR, Turkmenistan has remained one of the most closed and authoritarian states in Central Asia. The political system established under Saparmurat Niyazov, based on a personality cult and the doctrine of neutrality, was preserved and further developed during the presidency of Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov (2007–2022). Although the succession of power was largely formal and did not bring significant changes in domestic policy, the assumption of office by the new president coincided with the need to redefine the directions of foreign policy in the face of geopolitical shifts across the post-Soviet space caused by Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. The analysis, grounded in the assumptions of defensive realism, emphasises that Turkmenistan’s actions on the international stage after 2022 primarily reflect an adaptive approach to external challenges, while maintaining the core of the neutrality doctrine and expanding economic cooperation. Therefore, this policy cannot be viewed as a new opening in international relations but rather as an instrument for preserving state security and regime stability.
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