Why did some Turkic languages change from Arabic to Latin and then Cyrillic scripts?

The transition of Turkic languages between scripts was primarily driven by shifting political ideologies and state-led reforms rather than linguistic necessity.1

• Arabic Script: Historically, the Arabic script was adopted by most Turkic peoples following the spread of Islam and remained in use until the early 20th century.12
• Latin Script: In the 1920s and 1930s, Soviet authorities introduced Latin-based alphabets (such as the "Unified Turkic Latin Alphabet") to promote literacy and modernize the languages of Soviet Turkic peoples. Similarly, the newly formed Republic of Turkey replaced the Arabic script with a Latin alphabet in 1928 as part of a broader effort to modernize the state and reduce foreign linguistic influence.123
• Cyrillic Script: By the late 1930s, the Soviet leadership shifted its policy from Latinization to Cyrillization, making modified Cyrillic scripts compulsory for all Soviet Turkic languages to align them with the Russian-dominated Soviet system.124

Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, several independent nations, including Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan, began considering or implementing a return to the Latin script to strengthen national identity and facilitate international communication.124