Democracy in Central Asia: competing perspectives and alternative strategies

Abstract

Central Asia is a fascinating region. It is also one of the most problematic parts of the former Soviet Union in which to work on democracy and human rights, as all five republics face what sometimes seem like insurmountable challenges. Mariya Omelicheva is Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Kansas and far from new to the region—she has previously published a book on counterterrorism policies in Central Asia (Counterterrorism policies in Central Asia, Routledge, 2010), and has spent considerable time on the research for her latest work. In many ways, the process of democratization of Central Asia takes place not only among the people and elites of the five 'stans themselves, but also at board meetings in DC, European Union hearings in Brussels, UN reviews in Geneva, during OSCE (Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe) seminars in Vienna and conferences in Warsaw. Peculiar, perhaps—one should think these were matters best discussed by those most directly affected in Bishkek, Astana or Tashkent. That is, however, how the world is currently set up, making the study of Central Asia complex in a way that demands that scholars and activists—local as well as foreign—regularly look up and beyond what they can see from their regional office window or during fact-finding missions in the field.