Richard Pomfret
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- May 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780691182216
- eISBN:
- 9780691185408
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691182216.001.0001
- Subject:
- Business and Management, International Business
This book analyzes the Central Asian economies of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, from their buffeting by the commodity boom of the early 2000s to its ...
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This book analyzes the Central Asian economies of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, from their buffeting by the commodity boom of the early 2000s to its collapse in 2014. The book examines the countries' relations with external powers and the possibilities for development offered by infrastructure projects as well as rail links between China and Europe. The transition of these nations from centrally planned to market-based economic systems was essentially complete by the early 2000s, when the region experienced a massive increase in world prices for energy and mineral exports. This raised incomes in the main oil and gas exporters, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan; brought more benefits to the most populous country, Uzbekistan; and left the poorest countries, the Kyrgyz Republic and Tajikistan, dependent on remittances from migrant workers in oil-rich Russia and Kazakhstan. The book considers the enhanced role of the Central Asian nations in the global economy and their varied ties to China, the European Union, Russia, and the United States. With improved infrastructure and connectivity between China and Europe (reflected in regular rail freight services since 2011 and China's announcement of its Belt and Road Initiative in 2013), relaxation of UN sanctions against Iran in 2016, and the change in Uzbekistan's presidency in late 2016, a window of opportunity appears to have opened for Central Asian countries to achieve more sustainable economic futures.Less
This book analyzes the Central Asian economies of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, from their buffeting by the commodity boom of the early 2000s to its collapse in 2014. The book examines the countries' relations with external powers and the possibilities for development offered by infrastructure projects as well as rail links between China and Europe. The transition of these nations from centrally planned to market-based economic systems was essentially complete by the early 2000s, when the region experienced a massive increase in world prices for energy and mineral exports. This raised incomes in the main oil and gas exporters, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan; brought more benefits to the most populous country, Uzbekistan; and left the poorest countries, the Kyrgyz Republic and Tajikistan, dependent on remittances from migrant workers in oil-rich Russia and Kazakhstan. The book considers the enhanced role of the Central Asian nations in the global economy and their varied ties to China, the European Union, Russia, and the United States. With improved infrastructure and connectivity between China and Europe (reflected in regular rail freight services since 2011 and China's announcement of its Belt and Road Initiative in 2013), relaxation of UN sanctions against Iran in 2016, and the change in Uzbekistan's presidency in late 2016, a window of opportunity appears to have opened for Central Asian countries to achieve more sustainable economic futures.
Florian Grotz
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199249589
- eISBN:
- 9780191600029
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/019924958X.003.0022
- Subject:
- Political Science, Reference
Includes all relevant information on national elections and referendums held in Uzbekistan since 1990. Part I gives a comprehensive overview of Uzbekistan's political history, outlines the evolution ...
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Includes all relevant information on national elections and referendums held in Uzbekistan since 1990. Part I gives a comprehensive overview of Uzbekistan's political history, outlines the evolution of electoral provisions, and presents the current electoral legislation in a standardized manner (suffrage, elected institutions, nomination of candidates, electoral system, organizational context of elections). Part II includes exhaustive electoral statistics in systematic tables (numbers of registered voters, votes cast, the votes for candidates and/or parties in parliamentary and presidential elections and referendums at both the national and regional level, the electoral participation of political parties, the distribution of parliamentary seats, etc.).Less
Includes all relevant information on national elections and referendums held in Uzbekistan since 1990. Part I gives a comprehensive overview of Uzbekistan's political history, outlines the evolution of electoral provisions, and presents the current electoral legislation in a standardized manner (suffrage, elected institutions, nomination of candidates, electoral system, organizational context of elections). Part II includes exhaustive electoral statistics in systematic tables (numbers of registered voters, votes cast, the votes for candidates and/or parties in parliamentary and presidential elections and referendums at both the national and regional level, the electoral participation of political parties, the distribution of parliamentary seats, etc.).
Aleksandr Djumaev
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- October 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780199248155
- eISBN:
- 9780191602955
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/019924815X.003.0017
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
New and complex problems in inter-ethnic and international relations emerged following the independence of Central Asian republics. These include serious divergences among Central Asian states in ...
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New and complex problems in inter-ethnic and international relations emerged following the independence of Central Asian republics. These include serious divergences among Central Asian states in their understanding of issues; contradictions between the process of nation-building and traditional Central Asian management of multi-ethnicity, ethnocultural diversity, and multiculturalism; and deepening of ethnocultural differences. This is especially true of urban civilization in Uzbekistan, to which both Tajiks and Uzbeks lay claim. This paper examines each of these problems in detail.Less
New and complex problems in inter-ethnic and international relations emerged following the independence of Central Asian republics. These include serious divergences among Central Asian states in their understanding of issues; contradictions between the process of nation-building and traditional Central Asian management of multi-ethnicity, ethnocultural diversity, and multiculturalism; and deepening of ethnocultural differences. This is especially true of urban civilization in Uzbekistan, to which both Tajiks and Uzbeks lay claim. This paper examines each of these problems in detail.
Anthony Shay
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195386691
- eISBN:
- 9780199863600
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195386691.003.0010
- Subject:
- Music, Dance
Anthony Shay describes and analyzes the attempted erasure of many kinds of traditional male dance styles in Iran, Egypt, and Uzbekistan. Realizing that Western colonial powers reacted negatively to ...
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Anthony Shay describes and analyzes the attempted erasure of many kinds of traditional male dance styles in Iran, Egypt, and Uzbekistan. Realizing that Western colonial powers reacted negatively to what they perceived as effeminate and indecent in male dancing, many postcolonial political and cultural leaders sought to rid their traditional dance forms of any overt sexuality or, particularly, any activity that hinted at homosexuality in the dance world. In order to achieve parity with the former colonial powers, who were both hated and valorized, choreographers from state‐supported dance companies in these three areas created new, hypermasculine movement vocabularies that replaced much of what had been traditional. Shay details shifts in perception of older dancers, as well as the movement mechanisms and choreographic strategies employed by the state‐supported choreographers to erase the past.Less
Anthony Shay describes and analyzes the attempted erasure of many kinds of traditional male dance styles in Iran, Egypt, and Uzbekistan. Realizing that Western colonial powers reacted negatively to what they perceived as effeminate and indecent in male dancing, many postcolonial political and cultural leaders sought to rid their traditional dance forms of any overt sexuality or, particularly, any activity that hinted at homosexuality in the dance world. In order to achieve parity with the former colonial powers, who were both hated and valorized, choreographers from state‐supported dance companies in these three areas created new, hypermasculine movement vocabularies that replaced much of what had been traditional. Shay details shifts in perception of older dancers, as well as the movement mechanisms and choreographic strategies employed by the state‐supported choreographers to erase the past.
Jonathan Owens
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199290826
- eISBN:
- 9780191710469
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199290826.003.0005
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Historical Linguistics
Whereas the previous chapter examined only classical sources, this chapter turns exclusively to the dialects. Forty-nine features, 25 morphological, and 24 phonological in two Arabic dialect areas ...
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Whereas the previous chapter examined only classical sources, this chapter turns exclusively to the dialects. Forty-nine features, 25 morphological, and 24 phonological in two Arabic dialect areas are examined in detail, Mesopotamian Arabic and the western Sudanic (Chad, northern Cameroon, NE Nigeria). The data are compared using the statistical measure of standard deviation (SD). Two key points emerge. First, the Mesopotamian area is considerably more diverse (with a higher SD) than is the western Sudanic, a point explained in terms of longer settlement as well as other factors. Secondly, adding a further comparison with Uzbekistan Arabic — usually considered to be closely related to the Mesopotamian dialects — reveals that it is as close to western Sudanic in the feature comparison as it is to Mesopotamian. The significant similarities between Uzbekistan and western Sudanic are explained in terms of common retention, pointing to a pre-diasporic core dating to the 7th century.Less
Whereas the previous chapter examined only classical sources, this chapter turns exclusively to the dialects. Forty-nine features, 25 morphological, and 24 phonological in two Arabic dialect areas are examined in detail, Mesopotamian Arabic and the western Sudanic (Chad, northern Cameroon, NE Nigeria). The data are compared using the statistical measure of standard deviation (SD). Two key points emerge. First, the Mesopotamian area is considerably more diverse (with a higher SD) than is the western Sudanic, a point explained in terms of longer settlement as well as other factors. Secondly, adding a further comparison with Uzbekistan Arabic — usually considered to be closely related to the Mesopotamian dialects — reveals that it is as close to western Sudanic in the feature comparison as it is to Mesopotamian. The significant similarities between Uzbekistan and western Sudanic are explained in terms of common retention, pointing to a pre-diasporic core dating to the 7th century.
Richard Pomfret
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- May 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780691182216
- eISBN:
- 9780691185408
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691182216.003.0001
- Subject:
- Business and Management, International Business
This introductory chapter provides an overview of Central Asia, after its five countries—Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan—became independent with the ...
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This introductory chapter provides an overview of Central Asia, after its five countries—Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan—became independent with the dissolution of the Soviet Union on December 25, 1991. During the 1990s, the Central Asian countries focused on nation-building and transition to market-based economies, the nature of which varied from country to country. Indeed, the five governments adopted diverse economic strategies, from the most reformist, Kyrgyzstan, to the least reformist, Turkmenistan's personalized autocracy. Given the shared geography, history, and cultural background of the five countries, observers envisioned a natural experiment to test the efficacy of differing approaches to the transition from central planning and of the variety of market-based economic systems. However, completion of the essentials of transition by the turn of the century coincided with the start of a super-cycle in world prices for resources—most importantly oil—that dominated economic performance in the early twenty-first century.Less
This introductory chapter provides an overview of Central Asia, after its five countries—Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan—became independent with the dissolution of the Soviet Union on December 25, 1991. During the 1990s, the Central Asian countries focused on nation-building and transition to market-based economies, the nature of which varied from country to country. Indeed, the five governments adopted diverse economic strategies, from the most reformist, Kyrgyzstan, to the least reformist, Turkmenistan's personalized autocracy. Given the shared geography, history, and cultural background of the five countries, observers envisioned a natural experiment to test the efficacy of differing approaches to the transition from central planning and of the variety of market-based economic systems. However, completion of the essentials of transition by the turn of the century coincided with the start of a super-cycle in world prices for resources—most importantly oil—that dominated economic performance in the early twenty-first century.
Richard Pomfret
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- May 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780691182216
- eISBN:
- 9780691185408
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691182216.003.0005
- Subject:
- Business and Management, International Business
This chapter explores the national economy and transition strategies of Uzbekistan. At independence Uzbekistan inherited important assets, including the best civil aircraft fleet, the military ...
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This chapter explores the national economy and transition strategies of Uzbekistan. At independence Uzbekistan inherited important assets, including the best civil aircraft fleet, the military command, and the best administrative capacity in Central Asia. Indeed, during the 1990s, Uzbekistan was the most successful of all Soviet successor states in terms of limiting the fall in output, and in the early 2000s it became the first former Soviet republic to regain its pre-independence level of GDP. Uzbekistan was fortunate that world cotton prices increased substantially after independence, providing the resources to maintain public services, and when cotton prices fell in 1996 the government overreacted by introducing foreign exchange controls. A new phase of Uzbekistan's economic development dates from the termination of forex controls at the end of 2003.Less
This chapter explores the national economy and transition strategies of Uzbekistan. At independence Uzbekistan inherited important assets, including the best civil aircraft fleet, the military command, and the best administrative capacity in Central Asia. Indeed, during the 1990s, Uzbekistan was the most successful of all Soviet successor states in terms of limiting the fall in output, and in the early 2000s it became the first former Soviet republic to regain its pre-independence level of GDP. Uzbekistan was fortunate that world cotton prices increased substantially after independence, providing the resources to maintain public services, and when cotton prices fell in 1996 the government overreacted by introducing foreign exchange controls. A new phase of Uzbekistan's economic development dates from the termination of forex controls at the end of 2003.
Richard M. Auty
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- April 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780199275786
- eISBN:
- 9780191602160
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199275785.003.0016
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Development, Growth, and Environmental
This chapter examines the impact of natural resources on transition reform in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan using the rapid reform model. Natural resource endowment was incorporated into the model to ...
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This chapter examines the impact of natural resources on transition reform in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan using the rapid reform model. Natural resource endowment was incorporated into the model to improve its explanatory power. It is shown that both countries delayed reform, and had higher levels of rent-seeking behaviour and corruption compared with resource-deficient countries in Eastern Europe and East Asia.Less
This chapter examines the impact of natural resources on transition reform in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan using the rapid reform model. Natural resource endowment was incorporated into the model to improve its explanatory power. It is shown that both countries delayed reform, and had higher levels of rent-seeking behaviour and corruption compared with resource-deficient countries in Eastern Europe and East Asia.
Lawrence P. Markowitz
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- August 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780801451874
- eISBN:
- 9780801469466
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Cornell University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7591/cornell/9780801451874.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Asian Politics
State failure is a central challenge to international peace and security in the post-Cold War era. Yet theorizing on the causes of state failure remains surprisingly limited. This book draws on ...
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State failure is a central challenge to international peace and security in the post-Cold War era. Yet theorizing on the causes of state failure remains surprisingly limited. This book draws on extensive fieldwork in two Central Asian republics—Tajikistan, where state institutions fragmented into a five-year civil war from 1992 through 1997, and Uzbekistan, which constructed one of the largest state security apparatuses in post-Soviet Eurasia—to advance a theory of state failure focused on unlootable resources, rent-seeking, and unruly elites. In Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and other countries with low capital mobility—where resources cannot be extracted, concealed, or transported to market without state intervention—local elites may control resources, but they depend on patrons to convert their resources into rents. The book argues that different rent-seeking opportunities either promote the cooptation of local elites to the regime or incite competition over rents, which in turn lead to either cohesion or fragmentation. The book distinguishes between weak states and failed states, challenges the assumption that state failure in a country begins at the center and radiates outward, and expands the “resource curse” argument to include cash crop economies, where mechanisms of state failure differ from those involved in fossil fuels and minerals. Broadening the argument to weak states in the Middle East (Syria and Lebanon) and Africa (Zimbabwe and Somalia), the book shows how the distinct patterns of state failure in weak states with immobile capital can inform our understanding of regime change, ethnic violence, and security sector reform.Less
State failure is a central challenge to international peace and security in the post-Cold War era. Yet theorizing on the causes of state failure remains surprisingly limited. This book draws on extensive fieldwork in two Central Asian republics—Tajikistan, where state institutions fragmented into a five-year civil war from 1992 through 1997, and Uzbekistan, which constructed one of the largest state security apparatuses in post-Soviet Eurasia—to advance a theory of state failure focused on unlootable resources, rent-seeking, and unruly elites. In Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and other countries with low capital mobility—where resources cannot be extracted, concealed, or transported to market without state intervention—local elites may control resources, but they depend on patrons to convert their resources into rents. The book argues that different rent-seeking opportunities either promote the cooptation of local elites to the regime or incite competition over rents, which in turn lead to either cohesion or fragmentation. The book distinguishes between weak states and failed states, challenges the assumption that state failure in a country begins at the center and radiates outward, and expands the “resource curse” argument to include cash crop economies, where mechanisms of state failure differ from those involved in fossil fuels and minerals. Broadening the argument to weak states in the Middle East (Syria and Lebanon) and Africa (Zimbabwe and Somalia), the book shows how the distinct patterns of state failure in weak states with immobile capital can inform our understanding of regime change, ethnic violence, and security sector reform.
Giovanni Andrea Cornia and Vladimir Popov (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199242184
- eISBN:
- 9780191697043
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199242184.003.0003
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Development, Growth, and Environmental
This chapter investigates the reform paths of four Central Asian Republics (CARs): Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. It analyses their reform strategies and identifies ...
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This chapter investigates the reform paths of four Central Asian Republics (CARs): Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. It analyses their reform strategies and identifies what kind of economic systems are emerging as a result of the differing reform paths in Central Asia.Less
This chapter investigates the reform paths of four Central Asian Republics (CARs): Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. It analyses their reform strategies and identifies what kind of economic systems are emerging as a result of the differing reform paths in Central Asia.
Alexander Cooley
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199929825
- eISBN:
- 9780199950485
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199929825.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
The struggle between Russia and Great Britain over Central Asia in the nineteenth century was the original “great game”. For the British, control over the region protected their vital possessions in ...
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The struggle between Russia and Great Britain over Central Asia in the nineteenth century was the original “great game”. For the British, control over the region protected their vital possessions in the subcontinent. For an expanding Russian Empire, Central Asia represented the next step in their evolution as a great power. In the past quarter century, a new “great game” has emerged. Not only is the region enmeshed in America's global war on terror, it sits between a newly aggressive Russia and resource-hungry China and alongside one of the volatile areas in the world. This book explores the dynamics of the new competition for influence over the region since 9/11. All three great powers have crafted strategies to build their influence the region, which includes Afghanistan and the former Soviet republics of Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan. All three are pursuing important goals: basing rights for the U.S., access to natural resources for the Chinese, and increased political influence for the Russians. However, overlooked in all of the talk about this new great game is fact that the Central Asian governments have proven themselves critical agents in their own right, establishing local rules for external power involvement that serve to fend off external pressures and bolster their sovereign authority.Less
The struggle between Russia and Great Britain over Central Asia in the nineteenth century was the original “great game”. For the British, control over the region protected their vital possessions in the subcontinent. For an expanding Russian Empire, Central Asia represented the next step in their evolution as a great power. In the past quarter century, a new “great game” has emerged. Not only is the region enmeshed in America's global war on terror, it sits between a newly aggressive Russia and resource-hungry China and alongside one of the volatile areas in the world. This book explores the dynamics of the new competition for influence over the region since 9/11. All three great powers have crafted strategies to build their influence the region, which includes Afghanistan and the former Soviet republics of Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan. All three are pursuing important goals: basing rights for the U.S., access to natural resources for the Chinese, and increased political influence for the Russians. However, overlooked in all of the talk about this new great game is fact that the Central Asian governments have proven themselves critical agents in their own right, establishing local rules for external power involvement that serve to fend off external pressures and bolster their sovereign authority.
Adeeb Khalid
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- August 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780801454097
- eISBN:
- 9781501701351
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Cornell University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7591/cornell/9780801454097.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, Russian and Former Soviet Union History
This book chronicles the tumultuous history of Central Asia in the age of the Russian revolution. Traumatic upheavals—war, economic collapse, famine—transformed local society and brought new groups ...
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This book chronicles the tumultuous history of Central Asia in the age of the Russian revolution. Traumatic upheavals—war, economic collapse, famine—transformed local society and brought new groups to positions of power and authority in Central Asia, just as the new revolutionary state began to create new institutions that redefined the nature of power in the region. This was also a time of hope and ambition in which local actors seized upon the opportunity presented by the revolution to reshape their society. As the intertwined passions of nation and revolution reconfigured the imaginations of Central Asia's intellectuals, the region was remade into national republics, of which Uzbekistan was of central importance. The book provides the first coherent account of the political history of the 1920s in Uzbekistan. It explores the complex interaction between Uzbek intellectuals, local Bolsheviks, and Moscow to sketch out the flux of the situation in early-Soviet Central Asia. Uzbekistan, the book argues, was not a creation of Soviet policies, but a project of the Muslim intelligentsia that emerged in the Soviet context through the interstices of the complex politics of the period. The energies unleashed by the revolution also made possible the golden age of modern culture, as authors experimented with new literary forms and the modern Uzbek language took shape. The book introduces key texts from this period and argues that what the decade witnessed was nothing short of a cultural revolution.Less
This book chronicles the tumultuous history of Central Asia in the age of the Russian revolution. Traumatic upheavals—war, economic collapse, famine—transformed local society and brought new groups to positions of power and authority in Central Asia, just as the new revolutionary state began to create new institutions that redefined the nature of power in the region. This was also a time of hope and ambition in which local actors seized upon the opportunity presented by the revolution to reshape their society. As the intertwined passions of nation and revolution reconfigured the imaginations of Central Asia's intellectuals, the region was remade into national republics, of which Uzbekistan was of central importance. The book provides the first coherent account of the political history of the 1920s in Uzbekistan. It explores the complex interaction between Uzbek intellectuals, local Bolsheviks, and Moscow to sketch out the flux of the situation in early-Soviet Central Asia. Uzbekistan, the book argues, was not a creation of Soviet policies, but a project of the Muslim intelligentsia that emerged in the Soviet context through the interstices of the complex politics of the period. The energies unleashed by the revolution also made possible the golden age of modern culture, as authors experimented with new literary forms and the modern Uzbek language took shape. The book introduces key texts from this period and argues that what the decade witnessed was nothing short of a cultural revolution.
Mariya Y. Omelicheva
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780813160689
- eISBN:
- 9780813161006
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University Press of Kentucky
- DOI:
- 10.5810/kentucky/9780813160689.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Democratization
In recent years, there has been a regression of democracy and a growing resistance to Western democratization efforts within the governments of Central Asian states. To uncover the sources of the ...
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In recent years, there has been a regression of democracy and a growing resistance to Western democratization efforts within the governments of Central Asian states. To uncover the sources of the ineffectiveness of these efforts, Democracy in Central Asia focuses on the discursive aspect of democracy promotion abroad. It examines ideas, beliefs, and perspectives advanced by the US, EU, Russia, and China in the three Central Asian republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan, in addition to perspectives on democratization advocated by the governments of these states. The study illuminates competing presentations of democracy and explores how these competing ideas influence societies subjected to international democratization. Based on extensive fieldwork, survey, and focus group data, the book shows that what has been promoted by the US and EU in Central Asia is culturally unsound, inconsistent, and lacking in credibility for Central Asian societies and states. Democracy promotion policies have neglected important attitudinal changes in the Central Asian population and local understandings of regional and national needs. The book's commitment to the idea of democracy and democracy promotion as open-ended conversations to which political leaders, political theorists, activists, ordinary citizens, and academics can contribute debunks the notions of democratization as a given and as somehow removed from the struggle for power and domination. Moreover, this study shows that there are multiple ways of portraying and defending the idea of democracy and alternative routes to democratization.Less
In recent years, there has been a regression of democracy and a growing resistance to Western democratization efforts within the governments of Central Asian states. To uncover the sources of the ineffectiveness of these efforts, Democracy in Central Asia focuses on the discursive aspect of democracy promotion abroad. It examines ideas, beliefs, and perspectives advanced by the US, EU, Russia, and China in the three Central Asian republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan, in addition to perspectives on democratization advocated by the governments of these states. The study illuminates competing presentations of democracy and explores how these competing ideas influence societies subjected to international democratization. Based on extensive fieldwork, survey, and focus group data, the book shows that what has been promoted by the US and EU in Central Asia is culturally unsound, inconsistent, and lacking in credibility for Central Asian societies and states. Democracy promotion policies have neglected important attitudinal changes in the Central Asian population and local understandings of regional and national needs. The book's commitment to the idea of democracy and democracy promotion as open-ended conversations to which political leaders, political theorists, activists, ordinary citizens, and academics can contribute debunks the notions of democratization as a given and as somehow removed from the struggle for power and domination. Moreover, this study shows that there are multiple ways of portraying and defending the idea of democracy and alternative routes to democratization.
Alexander Cooley
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199929825
- eISBN:
- 9780199950485
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199929825.003.0003
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
Chapter 3 overviews the evolution of U.S. regional policy, exploring how its Central Asia strategy increasingly has become a function of supporting military operations in nearby Afghanistan. These ...
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Chapter 3 overviews the evolution of U.S. regional policy, exploring how its Central Asia strategy increasingly has become a function of supporting military operations in nearby Afghanistan. These roles have included establishing military bases and access agreements for OEF and concluding new commercial agreements in order to expand the delivery of supplies via the Northern Distribution Network (NDN), an alternative to shipping through Pakistan. At the same time, U.S. policymakers have had to balance their security cooperation with a public commitment to promote political and economic reforms in the region. These two imperatives clashed in the aftermath of the Uzbek government’s crackdown in the city of Andijan in May 2005, when the Uzbek government, in response to U.S. criticism of its actions, evicted the U.S. military from its airbase in Karshi-Khanabad (K2). Over the course of the decade, Central Asian leaders have grown increasingly cynical and even dismissive of such political criticism and demands for reform, while the United States and its Western allies have become less vocal about the so-called values agenda in order to placate their regional partners.Less
Chapter 3 overviews the evolution of U.S. regional policy, exploring how its Central Asia strategy increasingly has become a function of supporting military operations in nearby Afghanistan. These roles have included establishing military bases and access agreements for OEF and concluding new commercial agreements in order to expand the delivery of supplies via the Northern Distribution Network (NDN), an alternative to shipping through Pakistan. At the same time, U.S. policymakers have had to balance their security cooperation with a public commitment to promote political and economic reforms in the region. These two imperatives clashed in the aftermath of the Uzbek government’s crackdown in the city of Andijan in May 2005, when the Uzbek government, in response to U.S. criticism of its actions, evicted the U.S. military from its airbase in Karshi-Khanabad (K2). Over the course of the decade, Central Asian leaders have grown increasingly cynical and even dismissive of such political criticism and demands for reform, while the United States and its Western allies have become less vocal about the so-called values agenda in order to placate their regional partners.
Mariya Y. Omelicheva
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780813160689
- eISBN:
- 9780813161006
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Kentucky
- DOI:
- 10.5810/kentucky/9780813160689.003.0002
- Subject:
- Political Science, Democratization
This chapter discusses the lack of true democracy in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan in order to set the stage for a presentation of the study's findings. In the mid-1980s the leadership in ...
More
This chapter discusses the lack of true democracy in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan in order to set the stage for a presentation of the study's findings. In the mid-1980s the leadership in the republics of Central Asia was either quiescent in the face of looming changes within the Soviet Union or loyal to the central Soviet leadership and supportive of the Soviet federation's preservation. Ultimately, however, Central Asian governments backed democratization, and the leaders of these republics openly renounced their communist beliefs and affiliations. Western international organizations then launched development, democracy promotion, and security-related projects in these states. Although there were legitimate concerns about these republics' susceptibility to political instability and economic crises, there was also hope that these countries would undergo quick political reform, marketization, and transformation into liberal democratic states. But none of the Central Asian states has met these expectations. Today, Central Asian regimes sit along a continuum of autocracy rather than democracy, their power and authority firmly concentrated in the presidential office and maintained through a combination of repression, co-option, and political constraints on societal institutions.Less
This chapter discusses the lack of true democracy in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan in order to set the stage for a presentation of the study's findings. In the mid-1980s the leadership in the republics of Central Asia was either quiescent in the face of looming changes within the Soviet Union or loyal to the central Soviet leadership and supportive of the Soviet federation's preservation. Ultimately, however, Central Asian governments backed democratization, and the leaders of these republics openly renounced their communist beliefs and affiliations. Western international organizations then launched development, democracy promotion, and security-related projects in these states. Although there were legitimate concerns about these republics' susceptibility to political instability and economic crises, there was also hope that these countries would undergo quick political reform, marketization, and transformation into liberal democratic states. But none of the Central Asian states has met these expectations. Today, Central Asian regimes sit along a continuum of autocracy rather than democracy, their power and authority firmly concentrated in the presidential office and maintained through a combination of repression, co-option, and political constraints on societal institutions.
Mariya Y. Omelicheva
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780813160689
- eISBN:
- 9780813161006
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Kentucky
- DOI:
- 10.5810/kentucky/9780813160689.003.0003
- Subject:
- Political Science, Democratization
This chapter begins with a discussion of international perspectives on democratization, premised on the assumption that the strategies of international actors determine the outcomes of democracy ...
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This chapter begins with a discussion of international perspectives on democratization, premised on the assumption that the strategies of international actors determine the outcomes of democracy promotion abroad. It then offers a novel perspective on international democratization that relies on the concept of frames to discern the content of democracy promotion discourses. Specifically, this chapter looks at democracy promotion frames, which encompass a certain understanding of democracy, assumptions about why it is important, intended goals of democratization, and explanations of how to meet these democratic expectations. This chapter also outlines the various forms of research and analysis the author utilized for the study, including the process by which she examined texts produced by representatives of the US, EU, Russia, China, and the Central Asian governments, as well as her survey design.Less
This chapter begins with a discussion of international perspectives on democratization, premised on the assumption that the strategies of international actors determine the outcomes of democracy promotion abroad. It then offers a novel perspective on international democratization that relies on the concept of frames to discern the content of democracy promotion discourses. Specifically, this chapter looks at democracy promotion frames, which encompass a certain understanding of democracy, assumptions about why it is important, intended goals of democratization, and explanations of how to meet these democratic expectations. This chapter also outlines the various forms of research and analysis the author utilized for the study, including the process by which she examined texts produced by representatives of the US, EU, Russia, China, and the Central Asian governments, as well as her survey design.
Mariya Y. Omelicheva
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780813160689
- eISBN:
- 9780813161006
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Kentucky
- DOI:
- 10.5810/kentucky/9780813160689.003.0005
- Subject:
- Political Science, Democratization
This chapter examines alternative democracy promotion frames advocated by Russia and China through their foreign policies toward the Central Asian states, including through regional organizations ...
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This chapter examines alternative democracy promotion frames advocated by Russia and China through their foreign policies toward the Central Asian states, including through regional organizations such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). By the early 2000s, Central Asia had become the prize in a geopolitical race for influence and control of its vast energy resources, with Russia and China being key competitors. They have not, however, promoted their views on governance as actively as the US and EU have. Neither Russia nor China has openly stated an ambition to impose its practices on other states. In their foreign policy statements and internal security documents, both Russia and China have affirmed their adherence to the principle of noninterference in the domestic affairs of other nations. This chapter outlines the competing ideas and strategies for political development and economic modernization proposed by Russia and China for Central Asia, as well as the attractive models they have presented for maintaining stability and generating prosperity in the region without meaningful democratization. Both powers have disbursed growing amounts of bilateral aid to the Central Asian governments for a mix of humanitarian, economic, and political aims.Less
This chapter examines alternative democracy promotion frames advocated by Russia and China through their foreign policies toward the Central Asian states, including through regional organizations such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). By the early 2000s, Central Asia had become the prize in a geopolitical race for influence and control of its vast energy resources, with Russia and China being key competitors. They have not, however, promoted their views on governance as actively as the US and EU have. Neither Russia nor China has openly stated an ambition to impose its practices on other states. In their foreign policy statements and internal security documents, both Russia and China have affirmed their adherence to the principle of noninterference in the domestic affairs of other nations. This chapter outlines the competing ideas and strategies for political development and economic modernization proposed by Russia and China for Central Asia, as well as the attractive models they have presented for maintaining stability and generating prosperity in the region without meaningful democratization. Both powers have disbursed growing amounts of bilateral aid to the Central Asian governments for a mix of humanitarian, economic, and political aims.
Mariya Y. Omelicheva
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780813160689
- eISBN:
- 9780813161006
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Kentucky
- DOI:
- 10.5810/kentucky/9780813160689.003.0006
- Subject:
- Political Science, Democratization
This chapter explains how the leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan devised and actively disseminated their own rhetorical and ideological subsets of democracy, presented under the guises ...
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This chapter explains how the leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan devised and actively disseminated their own rhetorical and ideological subsets of democracy, presented under the guises of “presidential democracy” in Kazakhstan, “consultative democracy” in Kyrgyzstan, and the “Uzbek model of democracy” in Uzbekistan. It discusses the essence of these local democratic varieties, as well as strategies used by these governments to defend their alternative models of democracy and different standards for assessing it. Although these models, which have delegitimized Western conceptions of democracy and efforts at international democratization, do have distinctive features, several characteristics are shared in all three nations. Similarities include a deep ethnic heritage, a strong state personified by a strong leader, the prioritization of security and economic development over political modernization, and the principle of gradual political reform. This chapter posits that, by defining what counts as democracy and democratization and linking these notions to history and culture, the Central Asian leaders not only reinforce their own understanding of their political rule but also foster knowledge of democracy and attitudes about democratization among the people targeted by national democracy frames.Less
This chapter explains how the leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan devised and actively disseminated their own rhetorical and ideological subsets of democracy, presented under the guises of “presidential democracy” in Kazakhstan, “consultative democracy” in Kyrgyzstan, and the “Uzbek model of democracy” in Uzbekistan. It discusses the essence of these local democratic varieties, as well as strategies used by these governments to defend their alternative models of democracy and different standards for assessing it. Although these models, which have delegitimized Western conceptions of democracy and efforts at international democratization, do have distinctive features, several characteristics are shared in all three nations. Similarities include a deep ethnic heritage, a strong state personified by a strong leader, the prioritization of security and economic development over political modernization, and the principle of gradual political reform. This chapter posits that, by defining what counts as democracy and democratization and linking these notions to history and culture, the Central Asian leaders not only reinforce their own understanding of their political rule but also foster knowledge of democracy and attitudes about democratization among the people targeted by national democracy frames.
Mariya Y. Omelicheva
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780813160689
- eISBN:
- 9780813161006
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Kentucky
- DOI:
- 10.5810/kentucky/9780813160689.003.0007
- Subject:
- Political Science, Democratization
This chapter explores beliefs, understandings, and attitudes toward various aspects of democracy and democratization among the Central Asian populations, discerned through a public opinion survey and ...
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This chapter explores beliefs, understandings, and attitudes toward various aspects of democracy and democratization among the Central Asian populations, discerned through a public opinion survey and focus group interviews carried out in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan. It describes how the survey questions tapped into the respondents' understandings of democracy and their values, priorities in life, and attitudes toward various social and political institutions. The nature of the questions and the combinations of responses in the survey were informed by themes of alternative democracy promotion frames. The survey indirectly measured the respondents' political knowledge and consciousness by asking them to choose from among lists of values and priorities or to express their attitudes toward assumptions underlying various democracy promotion frames. Additionally, interpretive data collected from focus group discussions were used to elucidate quantitative results and add depth to the understanding of democracy embedded in the respondents' political knowledge.Less
This chapter explores beliefs, understandings, and attitudes toward various aspects of democracy and democratization among the Central Asian populations, discerned through a public opinion survey and focus group interviews carried out in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan. It describes how the survey questions tapped into the respondents' understandings of democracy and their values, priorities in life, and attitudes toward various social and political institutions. The nature of the questions and the combinations of responses in the survey were informed by themes of alternative democracy promotion frames. The survey indirectly measured the respondents' political knowledge and consciousness by asking them to choose from among lists of values and priorities or to express their attitudes toward assumptions underlying various democracy promotion frames. Additionally, interpretive data collected from focus group discussions were used to elucidate quantitative results and add depth to the understanding of democracy embedded in the respondents' political knowledge.
Mariya Y. Omelicheva
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780813160689
- eISBN:
- 9780813161006
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Kentucky
- DOI:
- 10.5810/kentucky/9780813160689.003.0008
- Subject:
- Political Science, Democratization
In this chapter, alternative democracy promotion frames used by the US, EU, Russia, China, and the governments of the Central Asian states are assessed on several dimensions of effectiveness, ...
More
In this chapter, alternative democracy promotion frames used by the US, EU, Russia, China, and the governments of the Central Asian states are assessed on several dimensions of effectiveness, including cultural compatibility, salience, consistency, and credibility. The effectiveness of the Central Asian governments' discursive frames is assessed against the beliefs, values, and dispositions of their own citizens, as determined by the survey instrument and focus groups. By looking at the limitations of the Western democracy promotion frames and the interest-based compatibility of ideas promoted by Russia and China, as well as by investigating the public resonance of national democracy frames, this chapter demonstrates that the alternative models for governance promoted by Russia and China enjoy greater support in Central Asia—just as the Central Asian governments' own models of democracy resonate strongly with their respective populations.Less
In this chapter, alternative democracy promotion frames used by the US, EU, Russia, China, and the governments of the Central Asian states are assessed on several dimensions of effectiveness, including cultural compatibility, salience, consistency, and credibility. The effectiveness of the Central Asian governments' discursive frames is assessed against the beliefs, values, and dispositions of their own citizens, as determined by the survey instrument and focus groups. By looking at the limitations of the Western democracy promotion frames and the interest-based compatibility of ideas promoted by Russia and China, as well as by investigating the public resonance of national democracy frames, this chapter demonstrates that the alternative models for governance promoted by Russia and China enjoy greater support in Central Asia—just as the Central Asian governments' own models of democracy resonate strongly with their respective populations.
