scholarly journals From Landlocked to Land-Linked? Central Asia’s Place in the Eurasian Economy

2021 ◽  
pp. 195-209
Author(s):  
Richard Pomfret
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
Central Asia ◽  
Good Governance ◽  
Border Crossing ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Central Asian ◽  
Political Relations ◽  
Belt And Road ◽  
Financing Of Terrorism

AbstractThe Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), while primarily a security organisation, has always included economic and human baskets or dimensions. Currently, the Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities operates in four main areas: (1) good governance and anti-corruption, (2) money laundering and financing of terrorism, (3) transport, trade and border-crossing facilitation, and (4) labour migration. This chapter addresses developments in Central Asia since the dissolution of the Soviet Union that are relevant to the third area of OSCE operations. The chapter’s focus is on the potential for the landlocked Central Asian countries to become land-linked, using improved transport connections between East Asia and Europe to promote economic development through export diversification and growth. Rail services across Central Asia improved considerably during the 2010s. They have been resilient, despite strained political relations between Russia and the EU since 2014, and rail traffic between Europe and China continued to increase in 2020 despite the shock of COVID-19. Further infrastructure improvements are promised under China’s Belt and Road Initiative. However, the expanded network has been little used by Central Asian producers to create new international trade, and the improved infrastructure represents a potential opportunity rather than a past benefit. If the Central Asian economies are successful in taking advantage of the opportunity, it will stimulate their trade across the Eurasian region and help economic diversification. The main determinant of success will be national policies and national economic development. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the role of multilateral institutions and, in particular, the prospects for OSCE collaboration with existing fora to promote cooperation and economic development in Central Asia.

Faith and Culture

2019 ◽  
pp. 303-314
Author(s):  
Atola Longkumer
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
South Asia ◽  
Central Asia ◽  
Religious Expression ◽  
Traditional Medicines ◽  
Nation States ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Central Asian ◽  
Global Christianity

Of the two Asian regions, socio-economically, South Asia presents both prosperity and abject poverty, embedded in varying traditions. Central Asian states are well-endowed with natural resources and sustain a diverse cultural heritage against a backdrop of Islam. The indigenous shamanic cultures that have sustained myriad indigenous people (often described by terms such as tribals, Adivasis, minorities) for generations across South Asia need to be recognised along with its globalisation. Healing, use of traditional medicines, the position and role of women, caste hierarchy and the relationship with the other are incorporated into South Asian Christianity. ‘Anonymous Christians’ have also contributed to concepts such as ‘insider movements’ to discuss embedded followers of Jesus. In Central Asia, Charismatic Christianity is finding particular resonance. The relative freedom of religious expression has given opportunities for Christians to witness to the gospel. The potential ecumenical relationship with the existing Orthodox Church presents an opportunity for global Christianity. Christianity has received fresh interest in Central Asia since the collapse of the Soviet Union and the formation of the nation-states of Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. Theological creativity along with prophetic proclamation will be needed to balance these challenges of culture and faith in the region.

Traveling Policies: Hijacked in Central Asia

2005 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 50-59 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iveta Silova
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Education Reform ◽  
Central Asia ◽  
Driving Forces ◽  
Local Policy ◽  
Reform Agenda ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Central Asian ◽  
National Boundaries ◽  
The Way

Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Central Asian education reform discourses have become increasingly similar to distinctive Western policy discourses traveling globally across national boundaries. Tracing the trajectory of ‘traveling policies' in Central Asia, this article discusses the way Western education discourses have been hybridized in the encounter with collectivist and centralist cultures within post-socialist environments in Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan. In the context of international aid relationships, the article considers different motivations and driving forces for reforms, the way pre-Soviet and Soviet traditions are affirmed within the reforms, as well as how these reforms speak back to Western reform agenda. Emphasizing the historical legacy of Soviet centralist traditions, this article reveals how traveling policies have been ‘hijacked’ by local policy makers and used for their own purposes nationally.

The Current State of the Monetary Sphere of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan within the Framework of Changes in the Legislation

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 1708
Author(s):  
Malik Rsbaevich MUKANOV ◽  
Ernar Nurlanovich BEGALIEV
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Central Asia ◽  
Banking System ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Monetary System ◽  
Current State ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Central Asian ◽  
Emission Activity ◽  
Second Tier

The article discusses the current state of the monetary – credit sphere in the former states of the Soviet Union. The authors note that, the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, which led to the defragmentation of the monetary system, is an important event in the formation of the financial sector in Central Asia. The single monetary and financial system, which was adapted to the conditions of the planned economy, had started rapidly falling apart. The result was a break of the traditionally existing economic ties. It is important to note that the monetary policy has a direct impact on the major macro-economic indicators such as GDP, employment and the level of prices. It is thus important to have a solid legal base. The accelerated formation of national monetary systems in Central Asian states has required the creation of genuinely independent emission center as the Central Banks of Central Asia. Since 1994, Central Asian governments have begun to carry out macroeconomic regulation, mutual settlement in the economy and emission activity. The next step was a reform of the banking system in Central Asia. At the beginning of the independence of the Central Asian states a legal framework was created and a transition was made to a two-tier banking system. According to the adopted laws in the countries of Central Asia, a two-tier banking system was formed, where the upper level was represented by the State Bank of the region (with emission rights), and the bottom were - commercial and government specialized. Creating second tier banks was a response to the needs of the Central Asian countries.

Clan Politics and Regime Transition in Central Asia

2007 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
pp. 802-804
Author(s):  
Nilgun Onder
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Central Asia ◽  
Political Regime ◽  
Historical Study ◽  
Science Literature ◽  
Regime Transition ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Central Asian ◽  
Independent States ◽  
Central Asian Republics

Clan Politics and Regime Transition in Central Asia, Kathleen Collins, New York: Cambridge University Press, 2006, pp. 376.The long isolation of Central Asia finally ended with the collapse of the Soviet Union. Five new independent states emerged from the ashes of the Soviet Union, the very first time in history that the peoples of Central Asia gained their own independent states modelled on the modern state. This development caught the world, including Central Asians themselves, by surprise. It changed the geopolitics of the entire Eurasia. In the ensuing years, the Central Asian republics have undergone simultaneous multiple transformations: state building; political regime transformation; and transition from Soviet communism. Thus the new states in Central Asia have provided scholars with new cases of multiple economic and political transitions to study and compare. In recent years, there has been a significant proliferation of English-language publications on Central Asia. Kathleen Collin's book, a comparative historical study of political development in Central Asia, is a major contribution. While its focus is on Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, it often provides examples from the other two Central Asian republics, namely Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan. It is thoroughly researched and rich in information and details. It also makes a significant contribution to the political science literature on democratization, regime transition and consolidation.

From Soviet Republics to Independent Countries: Challenges of Transition in Central Asia

2007 ◽  
Vol 6 (1-3) ◽  
pp. 291-312 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mirzohid Rahimov
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Central Asia ◽  
Regional Integration ◽  
Economic Reforms ◽  
Historical Period ◽  
Economic Regulation ◽  
Interstate Relations ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Central Asian ◽  
The Creation

AbstractIn the twentieth century, the Central Asian countries of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan passed through a complex historical period. They were originally founded as republics of the Soviet Union in the 1920s-30s as a result of national and territorial state delimitation. The process of the creation of new national state formations began after the Soviet Union disintegrated and these republics achieved independence. At the same time, the region's nations are facing complex problems of transition and the creation of new societies. Nevertheless, these countries have to continue the process of political and economic reforms, as well as development of civic institutions. The Central Asian nations established contacts with foreign states and international organizations and started to form a system of interstate relations between the countries of the region. There are potentials for development of regional integration of Central Asia. Future integration will depend on the readiness of the nations to carry out political and economic reforms, introduce forms and methods of economic regulation compatible with global norms, and most important, international support of political reforms and regional integration.

scholarly journals Islam and Politics in Central Asia

1997 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 86-89
Author(s):  
M.E. Ahrari
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Central Asia ◽  
Political Elite ◽  
Political Pluralism ◽  
Islam And Politics ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Central Asian ◽  
Middle Range ◽  
Long Time ◽  
Tribal Populations

The emergence of the five independent and predominantly Muslim statesKazakhstan,Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan. Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan-in theaftermath of the collapse of the Soviet Union raises the issue of the role of Islamin their future development. Since Islam does not allow a separation of religionand politics, Islamic political panies have already been active, albeit with differentintensity, in these countries. None of these countries has had a history ofindependence; for a long time, they were colonized (their most recent history ofcolonization goes back to the 1860s. when the Russians began to conquer andcolonize the Central Asian villages) by czarist Russia, then from 1917 by thecommunist czars. Consequently, after independence their political elite (for themost part, former communists) remain substantially unfamiliar with the practiceof democratic governance. As such, even after changing the names of communistparties in their respective countries, they essentially practice authoritarianpolicies in which little or no political pluralism is tolerated. Therefore. anyevolution of democracy in these statei in the immediate or middle-range futureis unlikely. However. Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan are two exceptions to thisrule.Not coincidentally. both Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan top the list of ethnicallypluralist states, and their economies are doing well compared to their CentralAsian counterparts. However, this ethnic pluralism has not only polarized theirpopulations along indigenous and Russian lines but also keeps their leaders fromallowing any substantial role for lslamist parties. Uzbekistan. Turkmenistan,and Tajikistan have a lesser problem emanating from ethnic pluralism.However, the lion's share of these countries' problems stems from the acutelyauthoritarian nature of their leader hip, and, more imponant, their severe economicunderdevelopment. One has to keep these variables in mind as one readsMehrdad Haghayeghi's book, Islam and Politics in Central Asia.Describing the presence of Islam in Central Asia, The author states that "thesedentary populations of the oasis enclaves and the tribal populations of theSteppe and the surrounding regions" were differently influenced by Islam. Hegoes on to observe:The enormous size and remoteness oft.he Steppe, the lack of adequate military manpower.the political instability at the heart of the Arab empire, and the absence of ...

scholarly journals A Great Game in Greater Central Asia

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 238-243
Author(s):  
M. H. Glantz
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Central Asia ◽  
Former Soviet Union ◽  
Aral Sea ◽  
Aral Sea Basin ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Central Asian ◽  
Soviet Central Asia ◽  
Great Game ◽  
Central Asian Republics

The region historically referred to as Soviet Central Asia includes the 5 Central Asian Republics (CARs) of the Former Soviet Union (FSU): Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. Their political status changed drastically when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991 and they became independent republics. Since the early 1990s, Central Asian leaders have referred on occasion to neighboring Afghanistan as the sixth CAR. In fact, it does occupy 14% of the Aral Sea Basin and its mountains supply about 15% of streamflow to the region’s mighty Amu Darya River that used to flow into Central Asia’s Aral Sea.

scholarly journals Russification of Muslim Central Asia: An Overview of Language, Culture and Society

2017 ◽  
Vol II (I) ◽  
pp. 70-85
Author(s):  
Ayaz Ahmad ◽  
Sana Hussan ◽  
Syed Ali Shah
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Central Asia ◽  
Local Population ◽  
Russian Language ◽  
Language And Culture ◽  
European Languages ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Central Asian ◽  
Asian Society

Russian influence in Muslim Muslim Central Asia was far reaching. The transformational force of Russian presence first emerged in the administrative setup and governance, soon it spread to the domain of education and sociocultural symbols. The Muslim Central Asian society lost its connection with Muslim world in neighborhood as Russian alphabets, lexemes and structures. The Tsarist era initiated these changes but its scope remained limited. In quest for making the Muslim Central Asians emulate the role of “new Russian man” the Soviet era used force to popularize and cultivate Russian language and culture. However, the distrust among Russian diaspora and Muslim Central Asian local population was deep seated. Once the Soviet Union fell, the demographic and linguistic changes were attacked by nationalists. Despite the post-1991 attempts, Russian language is still dominant in Muslim Central Asia as compared to English and other modern European languages

Identity-building in Kazakhstan

2020 ◽  
Vol 65 (2) ◽  
pp. 327-358
Author(s):  
Alin Roman
Keyword(s):  
National Identity ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
Central Asia ◽  
The Other ◽  
Internal Factors ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Central Asian ◽  
The Republic ◽  
Central Asian Republics ◽  
Gradual Transformation

"As a young nation that came into existence following the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Republic of Kazakhstan undergoes a gradual transformation within its demographics. The issue of national identity within what was once an important and well-integrated part of the USSR continues to draw the involvement of its administrative apparatus that has to find the equilibrium between, on one hand, maintaining national integrity through various mechanisms and, on the other, managing the level of external and internal factors that may lead to the fate of its fellow Central-Asian republics. Keywords: nationalism, populism, Central Asia, statehood, post-Soviet identity"

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