INDIA AND THE COUNTRIES OF CENTRAL ASIA: TOWARDS EACH OTHER

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 230-241
Author(s):  
Erkin Baidarov ◽  

The beginning of the second decade of the 21st century in the context of relations between India and the countries of Central Asia was marked by the emergence of a new conceptual program – «Connect Central Asia Policy» («Connection / Communication Policy with Central Asia»). If in 1992 India only established diplomatic relations with the new independent states of Central Asia, then it took another twenty years to establish wider contacts with the region of India. This is largely due to the new generation of Indian leaders who appreciated the "new" role of India in the global coordinate system. The need to solve their own political, strategic and economic problems, as well as understanding the need for Central Asian countries to solve their own problems in developing economic and human potential, transport infrastructure, etc., allowed the official Delhi to determine its niche at the intersection of mutually beneficial interests, which resulted in «Connect Central Asia Policy» program.

2021 ◽  

On the 30th anniversary of the dissolution of the USSR, this book collects selected contributions which analyse patterns of stability and transformation that characterise the politics and societies of three Central Asian countries—Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan—along with those of Central Asia as a region. In particular, this edited volume investigates gender equality discourses in Uzbekistan, the electoral rights of people with disabilities in Kyrgyzstan, neo-realism in the regional context of Central Asia, the role of Islam in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan as a provider of international security as well as the EU’s support of civil society and social capital in Kazakhstan. With contributions by Nora Becker, Dr. Shalva Dzebisashvili, Aziz Elmuradov, Prof. Dr. Matthias Kortmann, Dr. Aliia Maralbaeva, Laura Karoline Nette, Dr. Chiara Pierobon and Dr. Steve Schlegel.


Author(s):  
Atola Longkumer

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.


2019 ◽  
Vol 75 (1) ◽  
pp. 100-107
Author(s):  
Jovid Ikromov

In this article, the place of Central Asia, particularly of Tajikistan, in the Eurasian continent has been examined. The slow and confident transfer of engine of the world economy from the West to the East and South increasing the role of the countries located between them. Located between Europe, Russia and South Asia, five Central Asian countries are interested in the development and participation in broader transcontinental trade and transit corridors connecting in all directions. Tajikistan has a unique opportunity to become a hub of trade and transit as it is located at the crossroads of growing ties between South and Central Asia.


2007 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
pp. 802-804
Author(s):  
Nilgun Onder

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.


Author(s):  
Anna Sergeevna Iuniushkina ◽  
Tat'yana Ivanovna Pon'ka ◽  
Kristina Alekseevna Shapovalova

This article explores the role of Central Asia in modern conditions, which significantly increases in geopolitical and geoeconomic aspect. Attention is given to the general security challenges of Central Asian countries, as this region requires the coordination of efforts of the leading global actors, as well as Central Asian countries themselves. Security issues associated with vulnerability of Central Asian countries to natural disasters and emergency situations that may occur as a result of territorial disputes, ethnic violence, drug trafficking, and terrorism prevention, fight against extremism underline the need for multilateral cooperation aimed at solution of general problems. The novelty of this research lies in the fact that after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, which changed the world political map, the newly formed Central Asian countries gave acquired statehood on the international arena. Namely during this difficult period, the Central Asian countries were forced to choose their own development path. Russia and China, to certain extent, have confirmed their presence in the region by creating the economic and military integration institutions with participation of Central Asian countries. Therefore, the emphasis is placed on the analysis of interaction between China and Russia in the post-Soviet Central Asia, their role in ensuring regional stability and economic growth. The article also examines the importance of studying the role of the United States and the European Union in Central Asia.


Author(s):  
Mahmudov Nasimbek ◽  
Tursunova Dilnoza ◽  
Norimova Saboxon

This article describes the history, importance, differences, development, and role of courtyards in Central Asian architecture. Restoration and repair of courtyards in Central Asia, the establishment of defensive zones in all historical monuments, as well as the formation of a system of tourist routes remain a difficult task for today's architecture. KEYWORDS: Traditional architecture, courtyard, opposite porches, summer room, teracce.


2017 ◽  
Vol II (I) ◽  
pp. 70-85
Author(s):  
Ayaz Ahmad ◽  
Sana Hussan ◽  
Syed Ali Shah

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


2009 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 68-82 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Vinnikov

AbstractThe author provides an analytical overview of NATO's relations with, and policies towards, its Central Asian Partners. Since 11 September 2001, pursuing deeper engagement with Central Asian governments responds to the — at times conflicting — requirements of realpolitik and of advancing core values upon which the Alliance was founded sixty years ago, and which are also enshrined in its Partnership for Peace (PfP). In analysing this tension between pragmatism and idealism, the article focuses on five main aspects. The author concludes that NATO's approach towards Central Asia reflects an ever-present/inherent tension between pursuing security imperatives, underlying interests and core values. The result is a complex and somewhat uneasy policy, which seeks to reconcile these at times contradictory elements. Hence the Alliance has pursued enhanced engagement with Central Asian Partners in the belief that through daily cooperation in key areas of NATO and/or common interest, some core democratic values would eventually be incorporated into Partners' approach towards security, the role of the military, and international co-operation, thus benefiting the long term process of democratisation.


2016 ◽  
Vol 48 (3) ◽  
pp. 491-510
Author(s):  
James Pickett

AbstractOver the course of the 18th–early 20th centuries, a curious narrative emerged in Central Asia wherein the Turko-Persian monarch Nadir Shah Afshar was converted from Shiʿism to Sunnism by a group of Islamic scholars outside of Bukhara. While this legend was rooted in Nadir Shah's theological ambitions to bring Shiʿism back into the Sunni fold as a fifth school of canonical law, the memory of that event in the subsequent two centuries was intimately tied to the establishment of several scholarly dynasties, which managed to perpetuate themselves all the way to the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917. This article engages the memory of this mythological conversion to explore sharpening conceptions of sectarian divisions and the role of genealogy in projecting spiritual authority. Most broadly, it argues that—far from a passing depredation—the Afsharid Empire profoundly shaped the geopolitical and social landscape of Persianate Asia.


Author(s):  
D. B. Malysheva

The study aims at identifying some areas of international political interaction between post-Soviet Central Asian states and the major economic powers of Asia -China, India and Japan. The task is to determine their interests in the Central Asian region with an emphasis on the political component. The current state of political cooperation between China, India, Japan and the countries of Central Asia is considered. Their joint efforts to solve the problems and threats facing the sustainable development of the region are characterized, while overcoming those problems occurs within the framework of the formation of both bilateral and multilateral relations. The dynamics of political and military interaction between China and its Central Asian partners is revealed. It is shown that the regional security sphere is directly linked by China with the problem of protecting its own economic interests in the countries undergoing its Belt and Road program, aimed at changing the economic landscape not only in Central Asia, but throughout Asia. India and Japan, whose positions have come closer against the background of rising China, has defined their own strategies for Central Asia. Politics of major Asian powers in post-Soviet Central Asia are analyzed through the prism of the emergence of a polycentric world in Asia. Its distinctive features are: the emergence of new regional “centers of power”; their confrontation along the line of Sino-Pakistani, Sino-Indian rivalries; involvement of external players (the U.S.) in regional processes. In this regard, attention is drawn to the activities of such a multilateral international structure as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), as well as to the development of alternative infrastructure projects and concepts - QUAD, Indo-Pacific, Blue Dot Network. The results of the study are formulated in the following conclusion: the countries of Central Asia and the major regional economic powers in Asia base their relations on the foundation of mutually beneficial interests and equal partnership of independent states.


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