Autocratic System Research Articles

Parish Clergy of Voronezh Diocese in Fight Against the Cholera Epidemic of 1892—1893

The article is devoted to the study of the role of clergy and clergymen of the Voronezh diocese in the fight against the spread of the cholera epidemic of 1892-1893. The novelty of the study lies in the fact that the contribution of the clergy of the Orthodox Russian Church to countering the spread of infectious diseases has practically not been studied. It is noted that in the Russian Empire, Orthodox clerics were not only ministers of the altar, but also performed a number of socially significant functions. Based on a wide range of historical sources, the author analyzes the attitude of the population of the Voronezh province to cholera disease. The educational activity of clerics, the participation of clergy in organizing aid to parishioners are considered. It is emphasized that the clergy were closely associated with the peasant population of the empire, daily contact with them during the divine service. The study showed that the state tried to use the experience and knowledge of the clergy and clergymen, considering them as the social support of the autocratic system. The author concludes that the parish clergy and clergymen played an important role in the fight against infectious disease, not only participating in educational activities and spiritually supporting the population, but also providing those in need with initial medical assistance.

The post-Bashir era in Sudan: tragedy or remedy?

ABSTRACT Almost a decade after events in Tunisia and Egypt led to the fall of long-time dictators, the Sudan eventually had its ‘Arab Spring’. In 2019, after six months of determined mass actions, the people of Sudan finally overthrew Omar al-Bashir. Since the fall of the dictator, representatives of the people have jostled with the military for power. This struggle has developed as the people, represented by the Freedom and Change (FFC) movement, have forced themselves into a transitional government with the military. This transitional government is reflective of the struggle of previous regimes’ efforts to hold on to power and popular forces’ efforts to dismantle the autocratic system that has dictated the fortunes of Sudan for decades. This struggle is as old as the Sudan and repeats prior transitions from dictatorship to democracy in 1964 and 1985. This time people are demanding more from their leaders in the hope of ending decades of fragmentation, uneven development and corruption responsible for civil wars and mass impoverishment. Whether they succeed or not will also depend on the role played by international actors. This brief commentary presents some of the complexities faced, evidence of the gains made, and some insight into the challenges that lie ahead.

Orthodox arrangement of the Pochaiv Lavra in the second third of the XIX century.

Abstract: A series of imperial decrees of the 1820s ordering the establishment of a Greco-Uniate Theological Collegium and appropriate consistories contributed to the spread of the autocratic synodal system of government and the establishment of control over Greek Uniate church institutions in the annexed territories of Right-Bank Ukraine. As a result, the Greco-Uniate Church was put on hold in favor of the government's favorable grounds for the rapid localization of its activities. Basilian accusations of supporting the Polish November Uprising of 1830-1831 made it possible to liquidate the OSBM and most monasteries. The transfer of the Pochaiv Monastery to the ownership of the Orthodox clergy in 1831 was a milestone in the liquidation of the Greco-Uniate Church and the establishment of a Russian-style Orthodox mono-confessionalism. On the basis of archival documents, the political motivation of the emperor's decree to confiscate the Pochayiv Monastery from the Basilians with all its property and capital was confirmed. The transfer to the category of monasteries of the 1st class and the granting of the status of a lavra indicated its special role in strengthening the position of the autocracy in the western region of the Russian Empire. The orders of the Holy Synod outline the key tasks of ensuring the viability of the Lavra as an Orthodox religious center: the introduction of continuous worship, strengthening the personal composition of the population, delimitation of spiritual responsibilities, clarifying the affiliation of the printing house. However, maintaining the rhythm of worship and financial and economic activities established by the Basilians proved to be a difficult task, the solution of which required ten years of hard work. In order to make quick changes in the monastery, decisions were made by the emperor and senior government officials, and government agencies were involved at the local level, which required the coordination of actions of all parties to the process.

Legal preconditions for majoritarian democracy: The case of Hungary

The Constitution of Hungary promulgated in 2011 and officially called the Fundamental law thoroughly altered the Hungarian constitutional system. Scholars encounter difficulties when attempting to label the new system. While some typologies maintain that despite its illiberalism and populism the new system meets the formal criteria of legality and democracy, others insist that it represents an abuse of democratic constitutionalism. In what follows, I put two rival conceptions of democracy into the main focus to better understand the nature of the Hungarian constitutional system and the competing scholarly positions. First, I briefly introduce the contrast between the majoritarian and what I call the complex conception of democracy. My aim is to demonstrate that even if one subscribes to a majoritarian conception of democracy, certain legal and constitutional preconditions must be fulfilled. In the following sections, I examine the case of Hungary within this theoretical framework. The Hungarian constitutional system presents itself as a winner-takes-all majoritarian democracy. Nevertheless, an analysis of the legal preconditions of democracy - constitutional text, electoral system, legal institutions, fundamental rights, and the rule of law - can demonstrate that in this system, legal mechanisms do not serve to govern the formation of a legitimate majority rule. They create instead an autocratic system, the key attribute of which is the pretence of majoritarian democracy.

Mass Media Reform and Democratization in the Indonesian Context

The reforms that took place in Indonesia in 1998 were the starting point for community demands for a democratic system. This article is a conceptual article that aims to answer the challenges of democratizing the mass media in the Indonesian context. For 32 years, the Indonesian government system tended to adhere to an autocratic system. The freedom of the mass media or the press is monitored, so that freedom of information and news is limited. So that the information that reaches the public has experienced distortion and is no longer relevant. So strong in autocratic regimes. However, after the 1998 reformation, democracy has made significant progress, with the fulfillment of the rights of civil society, there is a process of transferring authority which previously became the exclusive rights of the state to become the authority of the public. In line with this matlamat, the transition of the broadcast media system system is monitored by a government order that is free from pressure and interference with the interests of power. The mass media or the press is no longer the fourth pillar in democracy, but the mass media or the press is a part that must be guarded, because the mass media or the press represents itself as the main public space and also determines the dynamics that not only function socially and economically, but also function. ideological. Apart from that threats to mass media workers and journalists still occur, even though threats and violence are carried out more by group interests. In fact, democracy actually contains civilization and order in social life which has a very noble goal in running the government. In general, it can be said that a democratic system requires a very dynamic consensus and interaction between the state, the media industry, and the civil society. Because in a democratic system there is no institution that feels more dominant than others.

Citizens’ Reflection on Democracy and Disaster in Nepal in the Wake of the 2015 Earthquake

On April 25, 2015, Nepal was hit by a massive earthquake. Thousands of lives were lost. Extensive damage to infrastructure and property was reported. Using 30 interviews, I firstly examine how the people survived in the early days of the disaster. Secondly, I discuss how the citizens of Nepal, perceived democracy as a political system that is still novel for them, in the aftermath of the crisis. The interviewees reflected on the government’s response to the earthquake. Evidently, the study highlights the disjuncture between the kinds of relief a democratic state is expected to provide for the citizens and the state’s actual response to the needs of the earthquake survivors. Nepal has adopted democracy since 1990, however, it has failed to deliver on its promises, and people are thus ambivalent about the system. However, in the final analysis, it becomes apparent that people are unwilling to revert back to the old autocratic system. The conclusions of the study compel one to consider certain social processes. What affects citizens’ expectations of their government in the aftermath of a major disaster is contingent upon how states have acted in normal times. The state’s response to disasters might be influenced by what citizens expect from the state in the first place, thus, leading to a self-fulfilling prophecy. Finally, a democratic society is preferred by most, and the only way for the government to be more robust is to compel the leaders to adhere to the laws and regulations and operate according: those who break the laws must be made accountable.

Democratic deconsolidation in East Asia: exploring system realignments in Japan, Korea, and Taiwan

ABSTRACT This study explores how and why the citizenries of Japan, Korea, and Taiwan engage in deconsolidating the liberal democratic system in which they live. For this exploration, the study conceptualizes democratic deconsolidation as a two-phase psychological movement and analyses it as the realignment of system affiliation. The analysis of the Asian Barometer Survey recently conducted in these countries reveals that pluralities of their citizenries are psychologically disposed to realign themselves with a hybrid or autocratic system. It also reveals that democratic learning and socioeconomic modernization, two significant influences on democratic consolidation, do little to keep East Asians from joining in the deconsolidation movement. These findings suggest that the deconsolidation of democracy not be equated with a reversal of its consolidation.

Demokrasiye Geçiş ve Ekonomide Yapısal Dönüşüm Arasındaki İlişki

There are several theoretical and empirical papers on the structural transformation but there is not a study relating structural transformation with the political regime switch in the country. This paper aims to fill the gap in relevant literature by empirically examining the linkage between the political regime switch and the structure of the economy. The main purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of the political regime switch on the share of the agricultural value added in the GDP. Due to endogeneity issues, Difference GMM methodology is used to test the hypothesis that the democratization leads to the structural transformation of the economy by using data for 43 countries over the period from 1970-2016. The estimation results confirm that the share of agricultural value in total value added is higher when the country is ruled by an autocratic system rather than a democratic system. Moreover, the estimation results indicate that per capita GDP, arable land, and trade openness have a negative significant, whereas financial development, fertility, and population have a positive significant impact on the value added share of agriculture.

The Dynamics of Property Rights and Consent in Autocracies

This paper studies the dynamics of property ownership, appropriation, and in autocratic political systems. An autocrat representing the interests of an in-group chooses whether and how much to appropriate from public and private assets at each date. To maintain the appearance of the rule of law, the autocrat proposes an assignment that would not be rejected if the citizens could actually vote. Despite this consent constraint the autocrat systematically appropriates property and wealth from the out-group and from public assets by exploiting gaps in property enforcement in the absence of consent. Under some initial conditions, the autocrat initially implements popular land reform only to take it back down the road. More generally, the wealth shares of both public property and private property of the out-group decline monotonically after an initial adjustment period. The model rationalizes the connection between increasing wealth inequality and privatization occurring in many autocracies. Calibrating parameters to Russian and Chinese wealth data, simulations of these countries' wealth distributions to mid 21st century display widening gaps in wealth between elites and the rest of the populace. Finally, we show that the ruling group under anocracy, an autocratic system that admits opposition and civil society groups, will generally be better off than under a traditional autocracy. The dilemma is that the anocratic system might enable the growth of an opposition party that eventually displaces the ruling group.

Unmarked Graves: Death and Survival in the Anti-Communist Violence in East Java, Indonesia by Vannessa Hearman

Reviewed by: Unmarked Graves: Death and Survival in the Anti-Communist Violence in East Java, Indonesia by Vannessa Hearman Taomo Zhou (bio) Vannessa Hearman. Unmarked Graves: Death and Survival in the Anti-Communist Violence in East Java, Indonesia. Singapore: NUS Press, 2018. 288 pp. More than two decades after the downfall of Suharto, the silence surrounding the mass violence in Indonesia in 1965–66 has been broken. Academics and the general public have been engaging in discussions regarding this inflection point in modern Indonesian history and connecting it to the larger global structure of the Cold War.1 Vannessa Hearman’s book is not only an exciting new addition to this body of literature, but also a game changer that challenges existing research frameworks. Given the enormous size and influence of the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI, Partai Komunis Indonesia) during the early 1960s, the third largest communist party in the world at the time, the eradication of the party meant the remaking of Indonesian society. The country transformed from “a stridently anti-imperialist order” with egalitarian aspirations under Sukarno to Suharto’s autocratic system based on the dominance of the military; investment and aid from the capitalist West; and a labor force with almost no organized political representation. By tracing the trajectory of this transformation, Unmarked Graves makes a significant methodological intervention. The book demonstrates that, although a few months of intense violence cemented Major General Suharto’s ascendance to the presidency, the army’s takeover was not immediately assured, and the power transition was a long and “protracted process” (33). The Indonesian mass killings, Hearman suggests, should not be studied as event history, but approached through a longue durée perspective. This paradigm-shifting monograph begins with a fine-grained analysis of the economic and political developments of East Java from the early twentieth century to the late 1970s. This densely populated region, with rich resources and yet astounding mass poverty, was “a key province in the struggle for legitimacy and control” after the September Thirtieth Movement (Gerakan 30 September, G30S) and witnessed some of the most gruesome violence as a result (129). The devastation of the global Great Depression, the Japanese Occupation, and the Indonesian National Revolution combined to forge a local economy relying on fragmented, labor-intensive sugar cultivation and subsistence-crop production. In the 1950s and early 1960s, East Java was known as Sukarno’s “fortress” due to the prominence enjoyed by pro-Sukarno forces. Under Sukarno’s protection, the PKI had been active in the region. Hearman illuminates that the Communist Party’s popularity derived from its broad-ranging social programs, including “trade unions, schools, community organizations, and cultural groups” (20). Its electoral success during the liberal democracy period can be largely attributed to its [End Page 125] promotion of education, social welfare, and women’s emancipation. Starting from 1957, Sukarno’s implementation of “Guided Democracy” created an environment for the PKI to grow into a major political player, but the president’s authoritarian rule also hindered its development. Moreover, the PKI’s increased power caused a sense of insecurity within the Indonesian army while the party’s advocacy for land reform led to resentment by the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU, traditional Islamic party), sowing the seeds for the conflicts that ensured. Echoing works by Jess Melvin, Geoffrey Robinson, and John Roosa, Hearman refutes the cultural essentialist explanation that depicts the mass violence as a schizophrenic episode in which the stereotypically gentle and polite Indonesian people collectively went “amok.” She also debunks the Suharto regime’s narratives that portrayed the violence as spontaneous and horizontal, rooted in the long-simmering tension between the militant and atheist PKI and the fanatic NU (80). According to Hearman, the extermination of the political left in Indonesia was systematically organized by the Indonesian army. Rather than being a law-abiding and disciplined peacekeeper, the army was a shrewd instigator of violence. Its most lethal weapon was not its military prowess but propaganda. Capitalizing on some existing prejudice toward the leftists and evoking memories of the PKI’s past “betrayal,” particularly the Madiun Affair of 1948, the army “conditioned” radical Muslims for violence against the PKI, instilling in them a belief...

Does board structure improve financial reporting quality? Evidence of real earnings manipulation among Pakistani firms

The purpose of this study was to understand organizational change initiated in the public sector of Pakistan. This study investigated the case of reform initiative of Computerized driving licensing authority (CDLA) of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Traffic Police (KPTP). Keeping in view the research questions, an in-depth study was conducted through the interpretivist research philosophy. Thirty semi-structured interviews were conducted from the top, middle and lower management (including permanent staff and project staff). Moreover, the secondary source of information was also used. For data analysis purpose, thematic networking technique was adopted as it helps in summarizing the whole set of information and also in presenting the codes in a simplified manner. Findings of the study show that change was planned and implemented in isolation from the internal stakeholders. Neither planned nor emergent change approach was adopted. New Public Management (NPM) features were evident, however, they were not planned properly. Moreover, the reasons for change, types and approach to change, causes of resistance to change, issues in implementation, the outcome of organizational change, and the role of technocrats were also identified. This study contributes theoretically by adding into the body of knowledge from the developing country perspective as well as by studying change in an autocratic system of police. Keywords: Organizational change, public sector reforms, thematic networks, new public management, qualitative methodology.

PETER THE FIRST IN RUSSIAN LIBERAL DISCOURSE OF THE SECOND HALF OF XIXth AND THE BEGINNING OF XXth CENTURIES

The article is devoted to the analysis of the views of Russian liberal leaders of the second half of the XIX - early XX centuries on Peter I and his transformation. The subject of the article is the historical and publicistic works of such authors as M. Pogodin, S. Soloviev, K. Kavelin, B. Chicherin, P. Vinogradov, S. Frank. Using textological analysis, the author aims to analyze the assessments made by representatives of the liberal Russian public of Peter I.'s transformational activities. According to the author, representatives of the Russian liberal discourse spoke about Russia as a part of Europe primarily in the geographical sense, and the common destiny of Russia and Western European countries is often determined by geography. Thinkers believed that European culture found its place in Russia, which before Peter I distinguished by its originality and firmness of the original principles. The author concludes that Russian liberals recognized Europeanization as an organic historical phenomenon caused by the whole progress of development of the country and expressing its needs. In general, the Europeanization of Russia under Peter I was given a positive assessment. Europeanization was considered as a factor in the integration of the Russian state into the European processes and a guarantee of its economic and political development. At the same time, the transformation of Russia in the European direction, as liberal intellectuals believed, was unfinished. Pointing to the incompleteness of the transformation, liberal thinkers put forward various reasons for the incompleteness of the transformation along the European path. The general assessment of the Europeanization of Russia was associated with the assessment of the personality and the activities of the King-converter himself, including in connection with his role in strengthening the state and the autocratic system in Russia.

The Need to Establish a New Format for Trade Political Relations between European Union and China

In this research work, Author focus on the analysis the need to establish a new format for trade-political relations between European Union and People Republic of China. What indicates the importance and innovativeness of the research is the presentation of the technical progress especially in China, the growth of economic ties with the European Union and the benefits resulting from liberalised of the China foreign trade policy under WTO. Realistic point is important trends in the trade regime between EU and China. Their commercial relations are too important to become hostage to political grandstanding or airy rhetoric by politicians performing for domestic galleries. Europe is China’s largest export market, and China now ranks second on Europe’s list of key trading partners. Trade with China dwarfs any other trade relation Europe has with emerging Asia. Disturbing this relationship would have ramifications for sales, growth and employment. The Chinese government is less concerned today about Western criticisms of China’s autocratic system, but the Chinese people have grown more nationalistic and represent a potentially greater threat to commercial relations. Commercial interests in autocratic regimes cause political dilemmas. The main aim of the paper is the presentation the need to establish a new format for trade political relations between European Union and China.

Social processes at the beginning of the 20th сentury in understanding of the Dnipro Ukraine’s intellectuals

At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries Ukraine did not have a national state, was divided into two large regions, which were part of the Russian and Austro-Hungarian empires. Therefore, Ukrainian intellectuals had to live and work in difficult political conditions, often going to very substantial compromises with imperial forces, represented by both Russian officials and comparatively more numerous Russian intellectual circles. This had a significant impact on the nature and tasks of the Ukrainian movement, substantially corrected both tactical steps and a general strategic course towards its own autonomy and statehood. It is important to note that the evolution of Ukrainian national ideology took place under the influence of European ideas. They, however, captured the thoughts of very narrow circles of humanitarians, most of whom engaged in the study of ethnographic and folklore spheres of peasant life, and therefore, were concerned about a relatively limited range of issues. At the same time, the comprehension of the past and present problems took place against the background of the involvement of a new generation of public figures in the movement. In the territory of Naddniprianshchyna, it was formed in conditions of rapid modernization, while maintaining the imperial (autocratic) system of power. After analyzing all the key aspects of the proposed problem, the author came to the conclusion that in relation to social processes (realities) at the beginning of the 20th century in the Naddniprianshchyna, the Ukrainian intelligentsia focused on socio-cultural, national, regional, and, to a lesser extent, economic and social life. The choice between "culture and politics" was too limited. In a situation, where many forces needed to solve internal (party, interpersonal, etc.) problems, such a local orientation significantly weakened the influence of intellectual circles on society, particularly the peasantry. At that time, when the Ukrainian intelligentsia claimed to be the main driving force of national affirmation, the establishment of ties between the Western (sub-Austrian) and the Eastern (sub-Russian) communities, it did little to its influence among the general population, the common people, that was a gross mistake in the new historical conditions.

The Iron Silk Road and the Iron Fist: Making Sense of the Military Coup D’État in Thailand

In May of 2014, the military of Thailand staged a coup and overthrew the democratically elected government of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra. The political divisions in Thailand, which culminated in the coup, as well as the course of events leading to the coup, are difficult to explain via Thai domestic policy and the power relations between Thailand’s military, corporate, and civil entities. The divisions can be more clearly revealed when interpreted in the context of the large-scale Chinese project “One Belt, One Road”. This ambitious infrastructure project represents an important step in the rise of China to the position of the world’s biggest economic power and – drawing on world-systems theory – to the center of a new long accumulation cycle of the global economy. Against this backdrop, it will be argued that developments in Thailand can be interpreted historically as an example of the upheavals in the periphery of China, the new center. The establishment of an autocratic system is, however, not directly attributable to the influence of China, but results from the interplay of internal factors in Thailand.

EYEWITNESS’S VIEW: 900TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE BAPTISM OF RUS IN KYIV IN A LETTER FROM PETRO VASYLCHYKOV TO GRYGORII GALAGAN

The archives of the Ukrainian elite are an important source for the reconstruction of various life-stages of society in the 19th century. Publication of the document form Galagan family collection, presents a private view on one of the signifi cant events in the social and political history of the Russian Empire. This is a celebration of the 900th anniversary of the Baptism of Rus in Kyiv on summer 1888. Feasibility publication due to the fact that this year marks 130 years since the events referred to in the letter. The celebration of the 900th anniversary of the Baptism of Rus was entirely in line with the imperial power’s desire to use the past for creating ideological and spiritual myths, that would contribute to strengthening the autocratic system of government through the unifi cation of the state and the church. In the last third of the 19 century the Russian Empire was actively involved in European practice of so called «invented tradition» (E. Gobsbaum) for a successful positioning itself as a country in the world. But the practice of imperial anniversaries had not only foreign policy but also internal tasks. It sought to neutralize national factors of life of the peoples of the multinational empire, especially Ukrainian, and strengthen the «space power» by leveling distinct. Petro Vasylchykov letter to Grygorii Galagan helps to understand the attitude to this event of the prominent politicians and public activists of the Empire at the end of the 19th century. At the same time, it contains many details for the reconstruction of everyday life of Kyiv at the time of the anniversary celebration.

Zmiana społeczna a „otwieranie” aksjologii wykładni prawa. Szkic podstawowych zależności

A deep social change, both directed on the democratic and on the autocratic political system, results not only in the changes of the normative regulations but also impacts the process of legal interpretation. Weakening the role of the language and systemic interpretative arguments, the change opens the interpretation on the stronger use of the axiological arguments, connected with the legal principles and criteria of general reference clauses. Particularly the last constructs, understood as the legislative authorization of the court to use the extra-legal criteria in the process of application of law, open the axiology of legal interpretation directly and largely, tying the character of this opening with the direction of change. The strengthening of the role of axiology deals as well with the widening of the base of the reference to these criteria (general clauses as the valid argument) as with the influence of these criteria on the process (shifting the axiological arguments to the role of the primary arguments) and the results (the correction of the stricti iuris contents by the social or political axiology) of the legal interpretation.

Lareh Koto Piliang: Sistem Kekuasaan dan Musik Perunggu Dalam Kajian Konsep Estetika Musikal di Luhak Nan Tigo Mingkabau

This article aims to discover the concept of Lareh Kotopiliang: Power Systems and Bronze Music in a Study of the Concept of Musical Aesthetics in Luhak Nan Tigo Minangkabau. Lareh Kotopiliang is oriented towards a royal or autocratic system of power, in which the primary figure holds the title of Dt. Katumangguangan. A legendary figure, Dt. Katumangguangan is believed to be the one who first implemented this autocratic system of power or leadership. There are two types of bronze music, namely oguang and talempong. From the aspect of performance, there are two different concepts: (1) oguang (a gong ensemble); and (2) talempong bararak (processional music). As an ensemble, oguang is played on top of a frame (rea), with gandang palalu and paningkah, six talempong, and two gongs. Talempong bararak is performed in procession – in declaration of the title of a headman, and musically is made up of three pairs of talempong – talempong jantan, talempong paningkah, and talempong pangawinan. Each of the talempong pairs plays a different rhythmic pattern, and the combination of the three patterns forms the characteristic melody of talempong bararak. The problems addressed in this article are: first, the traditional historiography of Lareh Koto Piliang as part of the trilogy of power in Luhak Nan Tigo Minangkabau; second, Lareh Koto Piliang and the concept of bronze music; and third, the musical concept of talempong bararak.

Democrazia popolare e democrazia autoritaria. Dal cartismo (1836-1848) all'Italicum (2015)

In the first half of the nineteenth century - in the UK - the Chartist movement linked the labor and class’ unrest to the achievement of universal suffrage and political democracy. By contrast, in Italy, the electoral laws engineered by the government of the center-left (2015) through the legislatve measure called Italicum distorts the purpose of the democratic tradition of the left and tends to replace the national political structure with an autocratic, authoritarian and caesaristic system.

Turkmenistan and the Middle East

Turkmenistan is a weak country militarily, but well-­endowed with natural gas reserves. While the latter also insulates it somewhat from international criticism of its human rights abuses, unfortunately, Turkmenistan is landlocked and dependent upon the goodwill of its neighbors in order to export that commodity. Additionally, Turkmenistan is in need of technological assistance. Given its relatively homogenous population and its hydrocarbon wealth it has adopted a policy of subsidizing certain necessities—though it underfunds other—and is fairly stable internally. Nevertheless, it is ruled under an autocratic political system, suffers massive corruption, and has to contend with fears of instability on its borders. Therefore, Turkmenistan has adopted a policy of permanent neutrality and is open to cooperation with all its neighbors as well as the big powers. The countries of the Middle East as both immediate and nearby neighbors play an important part in the international relations of Turkmenistan and in providing technological assistance and economic investments. This article, which reviews and analyzes those ties, utilizes government documents, academic works and newspapers from Turkmenistan and Middle Eastern countries.