The Uyghurs in Modern China

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rian Thum
Keyword(s):  
Central Asia ◽  
20Th Century ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Tarim Basin ◽  
Small Time ◽  
Modern China ◽  
Republic Of China ◽  
Majority Population ◽  
Soviet Central Asia ◽  
Independence Movements

The Uyghurs are a Turkic-speaking ethnic group, most of whom live today within the People’s Republic of China. Virtually all Uyghurs are Muslims, and most are oasis farmers, small-time traders, or craftsmen. They constitute the majority population of the Tarim Basin, a region that eventually fell under Chinese rule after the Qing conquest of 1759. Although Turkic speakers predominated in the Tarim Basin for several centuries, the modern Uyghur identity was only named and formalized in the 20th century. During that period, a succession of Chinese states gradually transformed Uyghur lands from a loosely held dependency under the Qing to a closely monitored, assimilationist, settler colony in the 21st century, ruled by a Han Chinese–dominated bureaucracy. Uyghurs inherit traditions rooted in Turko-Persianate Central Asia, elaborated in the 20th century by strong influences from Soviet Central Asia and continually adapted to a political context of shifting outsider regimes punctuated by briefly successful independence movements.

Being Soviet, Muslim, Modernist, and Fundamentalist in 1950s Central Asia

2019 ◽  
Vol 62 (1) ◽  
pp. 108-165
Author(s):  
Paolo Sartori ◽  
Bakhtiyar Babajanov
Keyword(s):  
Central Asia ◽  
20Th Century ◽  
October Revolution ◽  
Early 20Th Century ◽  
Soviet Rule ◽  
Present Essay ◽  
Intellectual Traditions ◽  
Transformative Process ◽  
Soviet Central Asia ◽  
Muslim Scholars

AbstractHow far, if at all, did the intellectual legacy of early 20th-century Muslim reformism inform the transformative process which Islam underwent in Soviet Central Asia, especially after WWII? Little has been done so far to analyze the output of Muslim scholars (ʿulamāʾ) operating under Soviet rule from the perspective of earlier Islamic intellectual traditions. The present essay addresses this problem and sheds light on manifestations of continuity among Islamic intellectual practices—mostly puritanical—from the period immediately before the October Revolution to the 1950s. Such a continuity, we argue, profoundly informed the activity of the Spiritual Administration of the Muslims of Central Asia and Kazakhstan (SADUM) established in Tashkent in 1943 and, more specifically, the latter’s attack against manifestations of religiosity deemed “popular,” which were connected to the cult of saints. Thus, this essay posits that the juristic output of Soviet ʻulamā’ in Central Asia originates from and further develops an Islamic reformist thinking, which manifested itself in the region in the late 19th- and early 20th-century. By establishing such an intellectual genealogy, we seek in this article to revise a historiographical narrative which has hitherto tended to decouple scripturalist sensibilities from Islamic reformism and modernism.

BRI and its digital dimension: twists and turns

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 311-324 ◽  
Author(s):  
Krzysztof Kozłowski
Keyword(s):  
Central Asia ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Silk Road ◽  
Regional Security ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Republic Of China ◽  
Digital Version ◽  
Integration Strategy ◽  
Belt And Road ◽  
Soviet Central Asia

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze the perspectives of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) Belt and Road strategy. The challenge in terms of studying the New Silk Road concept comes from the fact of dramatic difference between the declared ambitions of the Chinese state and the elusive character of concrete Chinese involvement, in particular as far as the digital dimension of the strategy is concerned. Design/methodology/approach The goal will be achieved by comparing the Chinese expansion in the Post-Soviet Central Asia with nowadays declarations concerning the digital version of the New Silk Road. For China, the Post-Soviet Central Asia was the first frontier approached on the basis of genuinely own integration strategy: the New Silk Road Diplomacy, which later evolved into the New Silk Road concept. An overview of Chinese activity in the region tells a lot about its grand strategy of today. Findings To paraphrase T.S. Kuhn, what one sees depends on not only what one is looking at but also what one has learned to notice. The Post-Soviet Central Asia shows the way Beijing thinks about integration. PRC achieved the most by basing on the free rider effect: concentrating on economic expansion, while other Powers provided relative regional security and stability. Originality/value The comparison of the beginnings of the New Silk Diplomacy in the 1990s with the plans of the New Digital Road gives a unique angle to grasp the specific features of the Chinese approach to international integration.

“Band Wagon and Gravy Train”: uses and abuses along the Silk Road

Afghanistan ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 171-194
Author(s):  
Warwick Ball
Keyword(s):  
20Th Century ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Silk Road ◽  
Late 20Th Century ◽  
Ancient Trade ◽  
International Image ◽  
Academic Discussion ◽  
The Silk Road

The Silk Road as an image is a relatively new one for Afghanistan. It appeals to both the pre-Islamic and the perceived Islamic past, thus offering an Islamic balance to previous identities linked to Bamiyan or to the Kushans. It also appeals to a broader and more international image, one that has been taken up by many other countries. This paper traces the rise of the image of the Silk Road and its use as a metaphor for ancient trade to encompass all contacts throughout Eurasia, prehistoric, ancient and modern, but also how the image has been adopted and expanded into many other areas: politics, tourism and academia. It is argued here that the origin and popularity of the term lies in late 20th century (and increasingly 21st century) politics rather than any reality of ancient trade. Its consequent validity as a metaphor in academic discussion is questioned

Republics of Soviet Central Asia

1946 ◽  
Vol 15 (11) ◽  
pp. 169-172
Author(s):  
Andrew J. Steiger
Keyword(s):  
Central Asia ◽  
Soviet Central Asia

The role of science in the study of and response to space threats

2019 ◽  
Vol 89 (8) ◽  
pp. 777-799
Author(s):  
B. M. Shustov
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
20Th Century ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Space Debris ◽  
The Sun ◽  
National Program ◽  
Biological Hazard ◽  
Academy Of Sciences ◽  
Space Activities

During the second half of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century, space hazards multiplied, the most urgent of which is space debris. Professionals working in space are exposed to this hazard daily and are aware of it as a problem. Furthermore, increasing attention is being paid to the unpredictable behavior of the Sun, which produces the so-called space weather. The asteroid-comet hazard is considered as potentially having the most catastrophic consequences. No manifestations of biological hazard have yet been observed, although as space activities develop, it is becoming increasingly important. The appropriate time scale for astrophysical hazards is many millions of years, so from a practical perspective, they have no importance. This article briefly describes the main types of space hazards. The author analyzes the results of research and practical work in the field, both worldwide and specifically in Russia. Comparative analysis leads to the clear conclusion that a national program must be developed for the study of space hazards and to respond to space threats. This article is based on a report made by the author at the meeting of the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) on January 15, 2019.

The Politburo’s Policy in Central Asia (1982–1991) [Politika Politbyuro CK KPSS v Central'noj Azii (1982–1991 gg.)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
С.М. Исхаков
Keyword(s):  
Central Asia ◽  
Central Committee ◽  
Spiritual Life ◽  
Self Awareness ◽  
The Real ◽  
Soviet Central Asia

Статья посвящена Политике Политбюро ЦК КПСС в отношении населения советской Центральной Азии в последнее десятилетие существования Советского Союза. Методологическая и теоретическая неразбериха, эклектика, откровенный субъективизм, скрытый догматизм стали характерными чертами современной историографии, которая уводит все дальше от реального исторического процесса, который происходил тогда в этом регионе под влиянием различных факторов. Характеризуется экономика и уровень жизни населения этого региона в канун перестройки, перспективы Центральной Азии, духовная жизнь, национальное самосознание, замыслы Ю.А. Андропова, действия М.С. Горбачева и республиканских руководителей в условиях начавшейся перестройки, сильные противоречия в высшей партийной номенклатуре. The article is dedicated to the Central Committee Politburo’s policy towards the population of Soviet Central Asia in the last decade of the U.S.S.R.’s existence. The methodological and theoretic chaos, eclecticism, open subjectivism, and concealed dogmatism became characteristic traits of contemporary historiography, which leads us farther and farther away from the real historic process that took place in the region, unraveling under certain factors. The article characterizes the region’s economy and the population’s level of life at the dawn of the Perestroika, Central Asia’s perspectives, its spiritual life, national self-awareness, Y. Andropov’s plans, M. Gorbachev’s and the republican leaderships’ actions during the Perestroika, as well as the strong inner contention in the Communist Party’s top nomenclature.

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