Nation and Nationalism in Central Asia

Abstract

This chapter discusses the experience of a subset of Soviet language-and-culture groups those who inhabit Central Asia. It focuses on a particular issue the existence and consequences of political nationalism. The differences in demographic behavior which reflect differences in national consciousness will result in radical changes in the ethnic composition of the Soviet population in the medium term. The imposition of Soviet rule on the region in the 1920s resulted in the destruction of the power and authority of the official institutions of Islam. Soviet control and secularization of the institutions of law and education together with state control over the economy has had a considerable impact on both the inner and outer worlds of the native population of Central Asia. The chapter concludes with a brief discussion of the relevance of nationalism to the formulation of foreign policy and arguments which are valid in relation to Central Asia may not apply in other parts of the USSR.