Politics In Central Asia Research Articles

The varying levels of contrasting adaptation in Central Asia’s climate change politics

ABSTRACT Central Asia is highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. There is, however, a lack of research on how local businesses, political elites and the general public perceive the need for comprehensive greening initiatives to address its consequences. To account for the material and ideational factors influencing clean energy transition in Central Asian petrostates, I offer an alternative analytic framework that I call ‘contrasting adaptation’. I argue that the energy transition has resulted in two contradictory responses at multiple levels of political governance: a formal response that is broadly supportive of new ‘green’ identities and policies, and an informal response that seeks to delay plans to decarbonize local business models and continues to prioritize ‘old’ oil and gas activities through new transnational networks. Drawing on a model of actor interactions at different levels of climate governance, I examine ‘contrasting adaptation’ – its constituent policies and discourse – to provide a better theorized framework for understanding climate politics in Central Asia. I use comparative analysis of the climate policies of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, the two Central Asian petrostates that pledged to carbon neutrality, informed by documentary and textual sources, and discourse analysis.

A Timely Synergy of Policy and Scholarship: Edward Shatz’ Slow Anti-Americanism: Social Movements and Symbolic Politics in Central Asia

A Timely Synergy of Policy and Scholarship: Edward Shatz’ Slow Anti-Americanism: Social Movements and Symbolic Politics in Central Asia

INFLUENCE OF POLITICAL VALUES AND TURKIC IDEOLOGY IN KAZAKHSTAN

This work is devoted to the study of the influence of Turkic ideology and political values on Kazakh-stan. In modern Kazakh society, organizational forms can be traced aimed at developing and improving perception as a Turkic people. The purpose of the work is to determine the factors influencing the forma-tion of political values and Turkic ideology in Kazakhstan, as well as to determine the degree of influence of these factors. The relevance of the work is due to the increased interest in the politics of Central Asia and the growing political influence of Kazakhstan. The research methodology was a survey of residents using analysis of the data obtained. The basis for the study was the works of domestic researchers such as: Zhetpysbaev S., Ayimbet Zh., Zhenis Zh., Sapiev E., Turkish researchers: Oktem K., Seytak B., Chemil D. and foreign scientists: Avatkov A., Khlikhor E. and others. The work examines the reasoning of researchers on the issue of the formation of Turkic ideology and identity. The ideas of a nomadic way of life, a common history, as well as linguistic similarities are presented as the basis for the formation of Turkic identity. This work will present a different approach to the formation of Turkic identity and ideol-ogy, namely the study of everyday aspects of society. As the basis of political values, many researchers highlight such aspects as: political organizations, cultural proximity, social interaction.

CHINA’S INITIATIVES FROM THE BELT AND ROAD INITIATIVE TO THE SHANGHAI COOPERATION ORGANIZATION SHOW ITS WILLINGNESS TO ASSUME LEADERSHIP – AN ANALYTICAL STUDY FROM A POWER POLITICAL STRATEGY PERSPECTIVE

This research article analyzes China’s initiatives from the BRI to the SCO and argues that such Chinese initiatives show its willingness to assume leadership. This article discusses the BRI and the SCO from the framework of power political strategies. Firstly, it discusses the economic strategies of China. This part explains China’s economic strategy from a geoeconomic point of view and discusses the BRI, the internationalization of the Renminbi, and the institutions initiated by China, mainly AIIB. It further discusses the economic domain of the SCO. Secondly, it discusses the political strategies of China and the political domain of the SCO. Lastly, this article discusses the military strategy of China. The final part discusses the security domain of the SCO. China’s power political strategies vis-à-vis the BRI and the SCO portray that it is willing to assume leadership which, however, China denies publicly. The BRI, internationalization of the Renminbi, and the AIIB with China’s influence are the key geoeconomic factors for China’s power convening capabilities. The BRI is China’s way to reach the world and resultantly, create a balance of dependency paving the way for all the roads leading to China. The financial institutions, mainly AIIB, are aimed at rivaling the Bretton Woods System which has been dominant since the Second World War. Moreover, the SCO takes care of China’s cooperation mainly in the domains of economic, military, and politics in Central Asia, South Asia, the Near East, South East Asia, and Europe. Hence, the initiatives from the BRI to the SCO portray China as a new type of power and speak volumes regarding China’s desire to assume leadership.

Introduction: Russian Colonialism, Women, and Politics in Central Asia

Introduction: Russian Colonialism, Women, and Politics in Central Asia

Geopolitical rivalry between the USA and China for transport corridors in Central Asia and problems of regional security

The gradual development of international transport corridors is the core of the political, economic, integration, modernization, spiritual, and cultural development of all countries of modernity. The transport industry, which is an effective means of transporting goods, is becoming an essential link in the world economy and the main instrument of the globalization process. In this regard, consideration of aspects of the development of international transport corridors is a vital and high-priority problem for research. In addition to playing the role of a geopolitically important link in the world, the Central Asian region is becoming the center of the intersection of international transport corridors. A crucial factor influencing national and regional security is the geopolitical rivalry of the key actors of world politics in Central Asia. This trend is associated with the huge reserves of oil and gas, uranium, as well as the significance of the strategic position of the region as a linkage between the markets of Europe and Asia. Conflicts arising from the desire of the leading actors of world politics to establish control over international transport corridors bring to the agenda the problem of the security of the region through which these corridors pass. The primary task in the era of globalization for the states of Central Asia located along the “Great Silk Road” is to ensure regional security, including the national one. This scientific article considers the influence of the “international transport corridors” factor on the regional security of Central Asia, analyzes the geopolitical problems of transport corridors, the role of transport projects for the revival of the Silk Road initiated by the United States of America and the People’s Republic of China, and the impact of geopolitical rivalry between the two countries on the regional security of Central Asia.

Tracing the Effects of Soviet Gender and Sexual Politics in Central Asia

Abstract By focusing on gender as an intersection of sexual ideologies and law, and analyzing its role in the transition between the Russian imperial colonial regime and the Bolshevik program of modernization in Central Asia, this article uncovers gendered and homophobic tropes associated with building an Uzbek Soviet and post-Soviet modernity. Coinciding with the women’s liberation campaign, the early criminalization of male same-sex practices in 1926 in the Uzbek Socialist Republic demonstrates a dual burden of Soviet modernity, whereby women’s emancipation came with the erasure of sexual ambivalence in the region and same-sex practices. The construction of a new historical memory that came with the emergence of the independent nation-state excludes women’s voices of the Soviet liberation campaign as well as renouncing its queer prerevolutionary past.

Travel Sketches: “A Tourist’s Notes” by Sh.M. Ibragimov as a Source on the History and Geography of the Turkestan Region

The article presents the characteristic of the unfinished and unpublished work Travel Sketches: A Tourists Notes by Sh.M. Ibragimov (18411891), housed at the Archives of the Orientalists of the Institute of Oriental Manuscripts of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Ф. 33. Оп. 1. Ед. хр. 225). The authors attempt to show the value of A Tourists Notes as a source on the history, historical geography and ethnography of the Turkestan Region. The text of the Notes also contains information about some aspects of Russian politics in Central Asia and its perception by the local population. It was prepared by a very competent, well-educated and very observant author, a member of the Russian imperial administration in Turkestan. At the same time, due to his ethnic background and religious affiliation, the author was close to the local population. The article describes Sh.M. Ibragimov as a statesman and Orientalist, analyzes his role in the history of Russian Turkestan and Russias relations with the Islamic world in general, as well as his contribution to the Russian Oriental studies.

Heartland, Rimland, and the Grand Chessboard Deciphering the Great Power Politics in Central Asia

As the twenty-first century progresses, struggle for the control of Central Asia is growing, as rising China increases its economic and political clout while Russia is trying to regain its lost glory. The American presence in the region was considered as a threat not only by China, but also Russia who feared that the US is determined to carve out its sphere of influence at their expense. The recent withdrawal of the US forces from Afghanistan and Taliban re- taking Kabul further complicates the geopolitical calculations. China and Russia have been cooperating to ensure that the adjoining region, typically falling under Russian sphere of influence, may not become an American influenced area. Where China has emerged as one of the biggest trading partners of the Central Asian Republics, and Russia has signed several bilateral and multilateral security agreements to ensure its continued influence therein. Eurasia generally and Central Asia specifically, once again, is back to the limelight of great powers politics. This study traces the conceptual evolution of geopolitics, from Ratzel’s Lebensraum, Kjellen’s theory of state as an organism, to the Mahan conception of the sea power, among others. It discusses the collective geopolitical insights of Halford Mackinder, Nicholas Spykman, and Zbigniew Brzezinski who focussed on the concepts of Heartland, Rimland, and Grand Chessboard, respectively, to decipher the geopolitics of Eurasia. Keywords: Central Asia, Geopolitics, Lebensraum, Heartland, Rimland.

EXTERNAL ACTORS IN CENTRAL ASIA: MULTILATERAL COOPERATION MECHANISMS

The highly favorable geographic location and rich natural resources are the main attractions of post-Soviet Central Asia. After the disintegration of the U.S.S.R, it became clear that different actors operated differently in this strategically important region. This area occupied different places in their strategies, and their goals were realized using different instruments. Regional disunity (Central Asian states then failed to tune up multilateral cooperation) brought grist to the mill of extra-regional players. Mutual political claims and personal ambitions of the regional leaders made it hard or even impossible to initiate common regional projects. Local contradictions in the water and energy sphere became a serious obstacle on the road towards political interaction when dealing with regional problems, environmental protection being one of them. In short, at that time, Central Asian countries did not yet master the art of pushing aside disagreements and problems for the sake of positive actions. Extra-regional actors capitalized on this fact without reservations. The U.S., the EU, Russia, China, India, Japan, and Turkey proceeded from their long-term interests when they tried to impose their political agenda on the local states and draw them into the sphere of their economic interests. Apparently, they preferred bilateral agreements with each of the Central Asian states, since their importance for each of the external players depended on their economic development, geopolitical significance and natural resources that they possessed. In recent years, the extra-regional states have revised and readjusted their Central Asian politics. Today, they prefer multilateral relations; in some cases, this format has been used for a long time, while other extra-regional countries have only recently employed the “5 + an extra-regional actor” format. Turkey and Japan are two leaders in this respect: they were the first to suggest this format, and others followed suit. Many countries limit their multilateral formats to the foreign minister level and, therefore, to declarations and joint statements. Regional states prefer this format, which allows them to balance out external players and address their own problems. Predictably, Central Asian countries are ready to be involved in multilateral formats.

Central Asian Regionalism or Central Asian Order? Some Reflections

Abstract This article reflects on how the concept of regionalism has been used to explain and interpret Central Asian politics since independence. It argues that regionalism, often a norm-laden analytical category based on Eurocentric assumptions, tends to paint the region as “failed” and regional states as incapable of institutionalizing multilateral relations. In its place, the article suggests the concept of order, which is more neutral and—through its focus on the operation of sovereignty, diplomacy, international law, authoritarianism, and great power management—is able to incorporate elements of both the conflict and cooperation that have marked the region’s politics since 1991.

Slow anti-Americanism: social movements and symbolic politics in central Asia

Slow anti-Americanism: social movements and symbolic politics in central Asia

Havza Yönetiminde Bölgesel Elektrik Ticareti Modeli: Aral ve Kura-Aras Havzaları Üzerine Bir Değerlendirme

Transboundary river basin management problems have been on top of the agenda of Central Asian politics, especially after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. This issue area has was given priority in the global political-environmental debates since the emergence of the Aral Sea problem during the Soviet era. In contrast, the environmental issues regarding the Kura-Araks river basin were relatively less discussed in the literature and thus have been paid less attention in the global political -environmental debates. This paper compares the environmental and economic issue areas of the water management and hydroelectricity generation in the Kura-Araks river basin and the Aral Sea basin and recommends solutions based on dyad-level regional electricity trade schemes based on regional cooperation models.

ACTIVITIES OF CENTRAL ASIAN RESEARCH CENTRES IN THE ARAB STATES

This article is devoted to the activities of centers for the scientific study of Central Asia in the Arab states. In the article, based on Arabic-language sources, a comparative and content analysis of research and work carried out in scientific centers of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Iraq, and Algeria are carried out. As well as scientific research at the universities of Baghdad, Mosul, Mustansiri and Kufa in Iraq, several higher educational institutions and research centers such as Al-Azhar in Cairo on the history and politics of Central Asia. The purpose of this article is to study the coverage of the modern history of Uzbekistan in scientific centers of Arab countries and a comparative analysis of new interpretations of the latest issues of our history. For this purpose, a review of the literature on this topic is presented, the significance and description of research centers are noted, the features of materials on the modern history of Uzbekistan in scientific centers, and directions of the topics studied are studied. Methodologically, the materials of research centers in Arab countries were studied in the context of historiography, the method of content analysis was used as the main method, as well as systematic and comparative analyzes, chronological-problem methods. The novelty of the research - the article presents an analysis of new interpretations of the modern history of Uzbekistan and classifies the research of scientific centers as an object. The study revealed the limited knowledge about Uzbekistan in Arab countries, the stability of existing trends and stereotypes in them, the narrowness and one-sidedness of the current discussions. The conclusion emphasizes the need for deeper, continuous, and systematic analytical approaches in the study of Uzbekistan by Arab research centers, as well as the need for their constant monitoring.

Domination and Togetherness: Conceptions of Power in Central Asia’s International Politics

ABSTRACT Central Asian (international) politics has traditionally been understood as if domination were the core aim of local actors, and that they apply any sort of means (such as obtaining rent or coercion) to achieve that end. The persistence of that conception subsequently reproduces the “spirit” of the New Great Game. By spirit, I mean a way of interpreting regional events that rests on practices akin to a Great Game—such as competition and a struggle for power—without fully subscribing to the analogy. The essay then assesses a distinctive and increasingly important way of understanding Central Asian politics based on a conception of power as “togetherness.” As a result, the article stresses the need for a joint application of the two versions of power.

ЯПОНИЯ ТАШҚИ СИЁСАТИДА МАРКАЗИЙ ОСИЁ ВЕКТОРИНИНГ ШАКЛЛАНИШ ВА РИВОЖЛАНИШ ХУСУСИЯТЛАРИ

This article is devoted to the analysis of Japanese politics in Central Asia. The interests and opportunities of Japan have been carefully studied. The article discusses the social,political and cultural issues between Japan and Central Asian countries. The author examines the current state and prospects of political and economic cooperation between Japan and Central Asian countries, joint efforts to address the problems and threats facing sustainable development of the region, which must be addressed in the development of bilateral and multilateral relations - logistics and investment cooperation.

Theorizing Central Asian Politics—The state, ideology and power, edited by Rico Isaacs and Alessandro Frigerio

Theorizing Central Asian Politics—The state, ideology and power, edited by Rico Isaacs and Alessandro Frigerio

Everyday Energy Politics in Central Asia and the Caucasus: Citizens’ Needs, Entitlements, and Struggles for Access, by David Gullette and Jeanne Féaux de la Croix

Everyday Energy Politics in Central Asia and the Caucasus: Citizens’ Needs, Entitlements, and Struggles for Access, by David Gullette and Jeanne Féaux de la Croix DOWNLOAD HISTORY | This article has been downloaded 61 times in Digital Commons before migrating into this platform.

Islam, Society, and Politics in Central Asia Edited by Pauline Jones

‘For most of the 1990s’, writes Pauline Jones, at the outset of her introduction to this collected volume (p. xi), ‘there was a broad consensus that Central Asia was experiencing an “Islamic revival” analogous to what occurred throughout the Islamic world in the 1970s and 1980s, and that this would have similarly negative effects on the social and political development of the five sovereign states that compose the region’. Jones proceeds to show how this ‘broad consensus’, the fruit of strategic analysis in the Sovietological mode, on the one hand, and of Huntingtonian prognostication, on the other, comes under challenge from the twelve papers that follow. It is perhaps not the most enticing way to package the book’s contents: anyone surprised that twenty-year-old geopolitical assumptions no longer hold force presumably still looks to MTV for cutting-edge insights into popular culture, and the lay reader may wonder whether political science cannot field livelier targets for rebuttal. But the unadventurous assault here on an aging straw-man should not obscure the very real interest of the papers in question. Rather than pointing to a post-Soviet Islamic revival, Jones suggests (pp. xii–xiii), they attest instead to an Islamic transformation; and in highlighting some of the varied, and surprising, dimensions of this transformation, the contents of the volume beautifully illustrate the ever-shifting relations between religion, society, and politics in Central Asia.

Authors and Authoritarianism in Central Asia: Failed Agency and Nationalising Authoritarianism in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan

This paper aims to reconstruct widely accepted concepts of the top-down authoritarian nature of Central Asian politics in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan through a comparative study of the pro-democratic movements that emerged in the late 1980s. By analysing data from interviews with the cultural elites of the late Soviet perestroika period and data on the indigenous nationalist movements such as Erk, Zheltoksan, Birlik and others, we question why such nationalist movements did not “survive” or emerge as a significant political platform as promised in post-independence Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, and why they failed to change the political outlook of one party rule or the dominance of one nationalising regime. Furthermore, we analyse how such nationalist movements had an opportunity to turn into semi-democratic movements but failed to transform after their agenda (arguably, independence) was achieved, leaving “communists-turned-nationalists” to continue their policies in newly formed countries. Thus, the paper also looks at how these cultural elites eventually contributed to the local “authoritarianism” and lack of plurality in views and identifications.