scholarly journals Security Cooperation and Change of Identities in Central Asia: A Model of Acculturation through Security Regionalization in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization

2012 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-65
Author(s):  
Askhat Safiullin ◽  
Brendan M. Howe
Keyword(s):  
National Security ◽  
Central Asia ◽  
Social Constructivism ◽  
English School ◽  
Security Cooperation ◽  
Shanghai Cooperation Organization ◽  
Central Asian ◽  
New Type ◽  
Analytical Tools ◽  
Central Asian Republics

Since its establishment in 2001, The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) has gradually increased its influence and importance while becoming an independent venue for the Central Asian states to manage regional and national security. The SCO focuses on a new type of (non-traditional) security, and its diverse membership differentiates it from other security institutions. In particular, and uniquely, the SCO has impacted the national security identities of its members. The processes examined in this paper are not easily reconciled with traditional state-centric security paradigms or the dominant strategic discourse. Thus, recourse must be had to analytical tools provided by social constructivism and, to a lesser extent, English School rationalism. The paper proposes a revised model of socialization with acculturation as a central mechanism and applies it to the security identity formulation of four Central Asian Republics in order to explain the shifts in the security discourses at both the national and regional levels.

Central Asia in Context of Afghan Situation

2011 ◽  
pp. 3-16
Author(s):  
I. Labinskaya
Keyword(s):  
Central Asia ◽  
The Political ◽  
Academic Council ◽  
Political Sciences ◽  
Central Asian ◽  
Central Asian Republics

The session of IMEMO academic council in December 2010 discussed the problems of Central Asia in the context of the Afghan situation. In her keynote report D. Malysheva, doctor of political sciences, pointed at the increased attention to Central Asia by regional and international players. This is explained by the new and extremely worrying situation in neighboring Afghanistan. There is a prospect that NATO will lose the war in Afghanistan and that the coalition troops will be withdrawn from that country. In its turn, this generates a threat of Taliban’s return to power in this country. Thus, we cannot exclude the political upheavals in the Central Asian republics that will inevitably affect Russia's interests. The discussion highlighted Russia’s stable interest to Afghanistan both politically and economically.

scholarly journals Integration of Foreign Actors in the Central Asian Region: Influence on the National Security of Russia

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 205-225
Author(s):  
Nuradin U. Khanaliyev
Keyword(s):  
National Security ◽  
Central Asia ◽  
Internal State ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Political Struggle ◽  
Asian Region ◽  
Central Asian ◽  
Ideological Influence ◽  
External Forces ◽  
External Actors

After the collapse of the USSR, permanent domestic political turbulence gave rise to political autocracy and political struggle with its characteristic technologies for influencing internal state processes. At the same time, the Central Asian states began to actively engage in global processes. At the same time, various countries of the East and West began to show interest in expanding their economic and geopolitical presence in the Central Asian region. At the same time, the ideological influence on the countries of Central Asia intensified. Various external forces, pursuing specific goals, seek to exert their influence on the internal processes of sovereign states, often contrary to the interests of the peoples of the Central Asian region. In this article, the author analyzes the influence of external actors on the internal processes of Central Asian states from the point of view of ensuring the national security of Russia.

scholarly journals ROADS OF CENTRAL ASIA. THE NEW INTERNATIONAL TRANSIT PROJECTS

2020 ◽  
pp. 51-60
Author(s):  
Ekaterina Borisova ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Central Asia ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
Western China ◽  
State Budget ◽  
Mountain Ranges ◽  
Relevant Today ◽  
Central Asian ◽  
International Transport ◽  
Political Background ◽  
Central Asian Republics

The development of international trade implies the use of the territory of Central Asia as a transit zone, through which the routes China–Europe, China – the middle East should be laid. The existing communication capabilities are not enough, so new directions are being developed (Railways “China–Kazakhstan – Turkmenistan–Iran”, “Turkmenistan– Afghanistan–Tajikistan”, ”China–Kyrgyzstan–Uzbekistan”; multimodal transit corridors” Lazurit”,” TRANS – Caspian international transport route”; such highways as “Western China– Western Europe”). However, paved roads, both rail and road, do not always meet expectations in terms of the volume of cargo passing through them (projects “China – Kazakhstan – Turkmenistan – Iran” and the Lapis lazuli corridor). Their loading is delayed “until better times” either due to the unstable political background, or due to the lack of necessary commodity flows in both directions. In some cases, there is a lack of political will to make appropriate decisions. Finished projects are unprofitable. None of the international transit projects announced or even completed over the past 20 years through the Central Asian republics has been fully operational. Meanwhile, international transit allows not only to fill the state budget, but also to solve issues of internal connectivity of territories. This task is most relevant today for Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, which have become hostages of their own geography, with localities separated by impassable mountain ranges.

Kazakstan and the Rest of Central Asia: Fifteen Shades of Difference

1998 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 573-579 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Rywkin
Keyword(s):  
Central Asia ◽  
Past History ◽  
The Other ◽  
Geographic Position ◽  
Central Asian ◽  
Soviet Central Asia ◽  
Central Asian Republics

Kazakstan is both part of former Soviet Central Asia and yet stands apart in many respects. Its geographic position, past history and present development are unique for the area. It is significant that Soviet-era writings treated Kazakstan distinctly from the other four Central Asian republics. This essay is devoted to these differences.

Most Central Asian states are comfortable with Taliban

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Central Asia ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Central Asian ◽  
Heroin Trafficking ◽  
Central Asian Republics

Significance The Taliban victory creates threats and some opportunities for Central Asian republics, three of which -- Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan -- border on Afghanistan. All except Tajikistan have indicated they will work with the new Afghan authorities. Impacts Russia and Central Asian states, except Tajikistan up to a point, will not back anti-Taliban resistance groups. Weak Afghan governance creates more scope for heroin trafficking through Central Asia. Although China is the more important economic player in Central Asia, it will defer to Russia on security matters.

Gender

2019 ◽  
pp. 363-372
Author(s):  
Sheela Jeyaraj ◽  
Evangeline Anderson-Rajkumar
Keyword(s):  
South Asia ◽  
Central Asia ◽  
South Asian ◽  
Asian Countries ◽  
Christian Women ◽  
Central Asian ◽  
The Status ◽  
God's Grace ◽  
Almost All ◽  
Central Asian Republics

Gender issues in South and Central Asia involve discriminations in the socio-cultural, political and economic realms. Despite policy initiatives, gender equality is still not available for most women. The condition of Central Asian women is less favourable than that of their counterparts in South Asia. Still, in South Asian countries where certain Hindu or Buddhist fundamentalist norms prevail, the position of women continues to be deplorable. Discrimination of women is justified in Sanskrit scriptures, which do not contain a coherent narrative of the creation of women. Likewise, the scriptures of Jainism and Buddhism present women as inferior to men. The status of Christian women in certain South Asian countries is better than that of their Central Asian republics. The patriarchal societies of South and Central Asia do not educate a sufficient number of women in theology. Today, almost all female Christian theologians in South Asia engage with the pathos of the exploited. Reversal of gender roles among diaspora communities have caused conflicts in the home and in public. Despite their struggles, Christian women in South and Central Asia continue their witness to God’s grace in Christ sustaining them.

Authoritarianism as an Institution? The Case of Central Asia

2020 ◽  
Vol 64 (4) ◽  
pp. 1005-1016
Author(s):  
Filippo Costa Buranelli
Keyword(s):  
Central Asia ◽  
International Society ◽  
Authoritarian Regimes ◽  
English School ◽  
Norm Diffusion ◽  
Archival Material ◽  
Authoritarian State ◽  
Central Asian ◽  
Regional Order ◽  
Elite Interviews

Abstract While much of the English School has focused on liberal aspects of solidarism, forms of “illiberal solidarism” in contemporary international society remain underexplored. Drawing on archival material and elite interviews conducted in Central Asia in the period 2013–2019, this paper advances the claim that the Central Asian elites have developed the institution of authoritarianism in their region through the mechanisms of mimicry/emulation and praise/blame. By looking at specific discourses and practices over the last two decades, the paper discusses how the Central Asian governments have been using the new elements of the “democratic transition” in combination with the traditional legitimation offered by diplomatic recognition to secure authoritarian regimes in the democratic age, to create authoritarian state-centric solidarity in the region, and to make “avtoritet” and “stabil'nost'” fundamental pillars of the Central Asian regional order. The paper contributes to the English School literature by providing an initial account of illiberal solidarism and by showing how authoritarianism can potentially be an institution of specific regional international societies; to the authoritarian diffusion literature by demonstrating that authoritarianism can have a deontic component alongside considerations of domestic survival; and to the broader norm diffusion literature by focusing on the spread of illiberal values.

Central Asia

2020 ◽  
pp. 508-542
Author(s):  
Pierre Siméon
Keyword(s):  
Central Asia ◽  
Historical Survey ◽  
Main River ◽  
Central Asian ◽  
Number Of Publications ◽  
Islamic Archaeology ◽  
The 19Th Century ◽  
Central Asian Republics ◽  
Vast Territory

This chapter explores the Islamic archaeology of Central Asia. Central Asian medieval ities were investigated by Russian researchers since the last quarter of the 19th century but the results of these excavations remain little known in the west. The predominance of historical survey studies, extensive excavations, and an impressive number of publications provides a basis for understanding the organization and distribution of the Islamic Central Asian cities. Their interactions within this vast territory and with the Middle East emerge in contemporary debates. Trade plays a major role in these contacts, and the sedentary-nomadic interface stimulated the economy. Nevertheless, few studies bring together the work carried out over the long term and enable an understanding of the variation and evolution of Islamic trade and urbanism in Central Asia. Outlines of the medieval societies are known, but the details remain unclear. This chapter follows the main river basins (Amu Darya and Syr Daria) and steppic and desert interfaces to understand the basis and extent of Russian archeology in Central Asia from the Tsarist period (c. 1850–1917) until today. The construction of a field of Central Asian Islamic archaeology and the main challenges confronting researchers in the five Central Asian republics are also considered.

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.

Central Asia, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and American Foreign Policy

Asian Survey ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 53 (3) ◽  
pp. 484-505 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles E. Ziegler
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Central Asia ◽  
American Foreign Policy ◽  
Specific Reference ◽  
Shanghai Cooperation Organization ◽  
The Past ◽  
Central Asian

This paper examines U.S. engagement in Central Asia over the past two decades, with specific reference to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. While alarmist voices occasionally warn of the threat to American interests from China and Russia through the SCO, the organization’s influence appears limited. Washington has engaged it only sporadically, preferring to conduct relations bilaterally with the Central Asian states.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document