Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to present an ethnomethodological study of the Central Asian republics and the effects of clan and family structure on transnational organized crime. Criminal elements and terrorist organizations are found throughout the region. The various nomadic and sedintary ethnic groups in this region perpetuate the primordial patrimonial system of clan authority. The influence of the clan permiates the entire system and the reification inherent in this system disallows coordinated systems of trade across tribal boundaries. The absense of transnational groups is this region is explained with the influence of the clan.
Highlights
The Silk Road—originally a trading route for spices from the East to reach European markets—is today used by drug smugglers and other criminal groups to traverse the central Asian republics of Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan[1]
After attempting to find concrete examples of transnational organized criminal groups operating in the Central Asian republics of Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, I found no data relating to such groups
My original research to find examples of organized criminal activity in Central Asia focused on the criminality without the cultural background
Summary
The Silk Road—originally a trading route for spices from the East to reach European markets—is today used by drug smugglers and other criminal groups to traverse the central Asian republics of Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan[1]. My analysis of the evidence shows the apparent lack of transnational organized criminal groups in the Central Asian Republics is due to the influence of the clan. Prior to the artificial boundaries imposed by the Soviet leader, the region saw a tradition “of accepting that different peoples can live together in mutually interdependent plural societies.”[6] Despite a distrust of the other as discussed in the section entitled Honor and Shame, the various ethnic groups of Central Asia lived and worked alongside one another without conflict. The Central Asian republics experienced political power vacuums after the collapse and shortages led to greater influence by organized crime groups. The location of these former trade routes brings other state actors into this struggle, including Iran, Russia, the European Union, and China
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