Kyrgyzstan: Central Asia's Island of Democracy? by John s> Anderson (review)

Abstract

588 SEER, 8o, 3, 2002 Anderson, John. Kyrgyzstan.CentralAsia's Island of Democracy? Harwood Academic Publishers, Amsterdam, I999. xvi + 107 pp. Notes. Tables. Figures.Bibliography.Index. 2 I.00; [ I 2.95. ALTHOUGH severalbooks have been published in the last decade concerning the independent statesof CentralAsia, there are very few that have a country specific focus. John Anderson's book on Kyrgyzstan's transition since the dissolution of the Soviet Union should therefore be regarded as a welcome and timely additionto thisfamilyof academic literature. The book isdividedinto fourchapters.The firstchapterprovidesthe reader with an overview of Kyrgyzstan's history with particular emphasis on the period since Russia'sinterventionin the region.The second chapterexamines Kyrgyzstan'stransition to democracy, the initial enthusiasm for democratic reform and the later tempering of such support that was accompanied by certain set-backs to the democratic process. The chapter illustrates the author's in-depth 'on the ground' knowledge of the ebb and flow of politics within the countryand, as such, is one of the greateststrengthsof the book. In this regard the author is particularlyprescient in identifying a down-turn in the democratization of the country, a trend corroborated by the recent presidential electoral process. Anderson moves from the political to the economic realm in the third chapter. This section details the precipitous decline of the national economy since independence and the deleterious impact upon the welfareof the population. The economic transitionis placed within the context of Kyrgyzstan'sformerintegrationin the Soviet systemand the difficultiesthis raised after independence was achieved. The countrywas confronted simultaneously with three major problems: the de-linking of its economy fromthe formerSovietsystem;the terminationof economic transfers from the centre; and the transitionfrom a command economy to one based on free market principles. One weakness of this section is its reliance on slightlyoutdated economic informationfor national production and poverty. However, thismay be more to do with the time delaybetween the manuscript being completed and the publication of the book, a common problem that must be addressed by the various publishing houses. The final chapter examines the securitychallenges that confront the country in the post-Soviet environment. Anderson identifies two major tasksfor the defense establishment : how to maintain a credible defense force in the context of economic decline and limited resourcesand how to manage its relationswith the major regionalmilitarypowers, namely, Russia, China and Uzbekistan. The book might have benefited from greater engagement with the burgeoningliteratureon democratictransitionsand consolidation, allowing a more comparativeperspectiveto be applied. Similarly,much could be gained by analysing Kyrgyzstan's economic transition in terms of its exit from a traditionalempire in which the political and economic unit were congruent and its entrance into a world system controlled in an altogether different manner by the United States. Doing so might have produced greaterinsight into the global regulatorymechanisms that Kyrgyzstannow has to abide by and the political and economic impact of these constraints. In fairness the author'sobjectiveis not to applya particulartheoryto the case of Kyrgyzstan, REVIEWS 589 but to give the reader an insider'sview of what has happened in the country since independence. To this end the author succeeds. However, an introduction and conclusion developing connections between the economic, political and securityaspectsexamined within the book would have improved such an account. Department ofPolitics J. GLENN University ofSouthampton Holscher, Jens (ed.). FinancialTurbulence and CapitalMarketsin Transition Countries. Macmillan, Basingstoke and London, and St Martin's Press, New York,2000. XX+ 197 pp. Index. ?45.oo. WE now think that we know more about the key determinants of successful transition.Very high on the list is the financial sector. In a marketsystemthe main systemicfunction of the financialsystemis to collect savingsfroma very large number of people, and with them to provide investment funds for somewhat smallernumbersof people and projects.As a necessary adjunctto this processfinancialintermediariesmake assessmentsof the creditworthiness of borrowers,and the viability of projects.They also monitor the progressof theprojectsand the loan repayments.Ifthe financialinstitutionsareincapable of providingthese servicesthen firmsare thrownbackon self-financeor interfirm loans. But even if there are functioning banks in transition economies, then it is important to remember that the financial system is inherently unstable, because it is driven by the profit motive. So regulation is required. But in addition it is necessary to recall...