Introduction: Image, Influence and Legacy

Abstract

This chapter argues that the relationship between politics and cultural symbols/‘images’, became particularly relevant for states that emerged in the wake of the disintegration of the Soviet Union in Central Asia. These were essentially states that had not seen the development of an independent movement prior to the implosion at the centre, and their emergence raised questions about the legitimacy of the state/nation not just from within the state but also from the global arena. How the ‘new’ states legitimized their existence as separate entities and redefined themselves in a new form, both internally and externally, therefore assumes importance. In the course of this redefinition competing images were articulated and new discourses were generated. Nation building and nationalist rhetoric, therefore, was intended as much for the international public as the domestic audience whether it was the projection of Kazakhstan as the ‘Heart of Eurasia’ or Kyrgyzstan as the ‘Island of Democracy’. Though not as well articulated the image that the Uzbek state presented was that of an ‘ancient state at the crossroads of civilization’. Here, the shaping of a ‘post-Soviet’ future, through the performative role played by the state in the arena of culture, historical memory, images and rhetoric, assumes significance. While most states actively promote an international ‘image’, in the Eurasian space the Uzbek and the Kazakh cases are interesting since they provide remarkable contrasts that are largely reflective of their heritage. This chapter focuses on a brief review of the history of the state in the Central Asian region since it points not only to the long history of statehood in the region, but also to the fact that the nature of the present state can only be understood in terms of an understanding of these pre-existing state forms.