Democracy and Pluralism in Muslim Eurasia by Yaacov Ro'i Vladimir Putin and Central Asia by Lena s> Jonson (review)

Abstract

582 SEER, 84, 3, JULY 2006 Issues of modernization are also significant in the authors' attempts to understand the situation in Chechnya. Tishkov posits that Chechnya is in a processof de-modernizationwhich has resultedin 'chaoticchanges in which the very concept of societyis sweptaway' (p. I70). Sakwa(pp.6-7) and Gakaev (p. 23) acknowledge that Chechnya has been and continues to be impeded by the lack of a native Chechen intelligentsiaand technocracy.These factors, plus economic and social destruction, may greatly hamper post-conflict reconstruction. In addition to examining the sources of conflict, the book also addresses aspects of political communication, the peace process and negotiations. For Mikhailov,the abilityto negotiate properlywith the centre enabled Tatarstan to extract greater political concessions in the post-Soviet political order than their fellow Muslims in Chechnya. This has benefited the former. Both Pain and Baev note thatvariousdisconnectionsexist between the politicaland militaryestablishment.Russell, Hughes andJudd are all highly criticalof the Putinadministration'slackof willingnessto negotiate, and suggestthat thishas sustainedviolence in the region. Although the volume is enriched by its authors' diversity, it lacks one importantset of perspectives- women's. This is indeed significantas one of Russia's leading agents of civil society, the Soldiers' Mothers Committee emerged in response to the Chechen war. Additionally, both Russian and Chechen women have made considerable sacrifices during the war. They have been the victims of war crimes as well as the perpetratorsof terrorism. The inclusion of the Khasavyurt Agreement and the Russian-Chechen Peace Treaty is indeed valuable for studentsand researchersalike. However, given the diverseviewpoints and subjectmatter the volume would have been much more user-friendlywith an index. School ofPolitical andSocialInquiry P. LENTINI MonashUniversip Ro'i, Yaacov (ed.). Democragy andPluralism in MuslimEurasia.The Cummings Center Series, I9. FrankCass,London and New York,2004. xiv + 403 pp. Glossary.Tables. Notes. Index. ?65.00. Jonson, Lena. Vladimir PutinandCentralAsia. Cultureand Societyin Westernand CentralAsia, i. I. B Tauris, London and New York, 2004. xii + 256 pp. Maps. Notes. Selected bibliography.Index. ?45.00. THE correlationof Islam and democracy has been a topic of debate amongst academics since the disintegration of the USSR, and even more so since the beginning of the 'war on terror'.This volume focuses on the evolution of democracy amongst the Muslim populations of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). The firstpart of the volume looks at the history of the areasin concern, and theirIslamicand democraticcharacteristics.The second part of the volume assessesthe impact of internaland externalinfluencesafter independence. Although the issuesand topics tackledin thisvolume generally give a clear analysisof the state of democracy and Islam in the areas studied, REVIEWS 583 some chapters could be further researched. Richard Pomfret in 'Aid and Ideas: The Impact of Western Economic Support on the Muslim Successor States', deals with assistanceprimarilyfrom the InternationalMonetary Fund and the World Bank. Although these two internationalfinancial institutions are under strong American influence, they do not fully expose American economic influences in the region, which are profound enough to deserve some mention in this chapter.America'seconomic relationshipwith the CentralAsian countriesis also intertwinedwith politicaland securityrelatedissues, which is also essentialin the studyof the impactof Westerneconomic support, especially in regard to Central Asia. In this era of competing influences, Western economic support needs to be better defined. The author makes a bold statement that Kazakhstan's economic orientations are so much connected with Russiathat it has become suspectto the West. It is trueto say that Russia has profound influence over Kazakhstan,but in regardto energy and the world of petro-politics,Russia faces profound competition. Kazakhstan's participation in the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline has further proved this point. This chapter also insufficiently stresses American-Uzbek relations. Much more could have been said on American economic and consequently political influences in Uzbekistan. The author talks about Russia's power in the region waning after I995; in fact the opposite can be argued. Russia did not attempt to regain its lost influences in the region until the late Kozyrev period. By 1995, Russia had re-orientatedits attention to Central Asia, and had already become involved in the Tajik civil war, which it helped to end. Part three of this volume examines the political developments of the Muslim successor states. Vladimir Babak...