Central Asian fragmented civil society: communal and neoliberal forms in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan

2004 ◽  
pp. 116-122
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Central Asian

Central Asia After Three Decades of Independence

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Central Asia ◽  
Gender Equality ◽  
International Security ◽  
People With Disabilities ◽  
Asian Countries ◽  
Central Asian ◽  
Central Asian Countries

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.

scholarly journals The Development of Civil Society in Post-Soviet Kyrgyzstan

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chiara Pierobon
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Civic Engagement ◽  
Public Participation ◽  
Social Trust ◽  
Non Profit ◽  
The Past ◽  
Central Asian ◽  
Depth Analysis ◽  
Development Trajectory ◽  
Low Levels

In the past two decades, scholars from a variety of disciplines have argued that post – communist civil society is weak and structurally deficient and is characterised by low levels of social trust, voluntary organisational membership, and public participation. This article intends to challenge this academic consensus by providing an in-depth analysis of civil society development in Kyrgyzstan, a country, whose non-profit sector has been described as the most vibrant and plentiful of the Central Asian region. To this scope, the article analyses the ways and extent to which the national and international environments have influenced the development trajectory of Kyrgyz civil society. Special emphasis is placed on the specific forms and manifestations of civic engagement characterising the non-profit sector of the selected country and on the strategies it has implemented to overcome its weaknesses and vulnerabilities. The paper sheds new light on factors and features that have contributed to the strengths of Kyrgyz civil society and which can be used to increase our understanding of civil society developments in other transition countries.

scholarly journals Political and constitutional-legal transformations in Central Asia countries (1991–2021).

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 52-59
Author(s):  
Oleksiy Khalapsis ◽  
Oleh Poplavskyi ◽  
Oleh Levin
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Central Asia ◽  
Central Government ◽  
Ethnic Conflicts ◽  
Islamic Fundamentalism ◽  
Political Processes ◽  
Liberal Democratic ◽  
Central Asian ◽  
Islamic Religion ◽  
Regional Leaders

The aim of the article is to determine the specifics of political processes related to decommunization in Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan), to study the variability of the main vectors of post-Soviet transformations of the respective societies. Reforms in Kazakhstan could theoretically pave the way for civil society, but so far they are more of an imitation. Uzbekistan is distinguished by the state's struggle against Islamic fundamentalism, which gave rise to Islam Karimov to pursue a tough internal policy. Democratization shifts after his death, but the prospects and irreversibility of these reforms are now highly questionable. Kyrgyzstan is the only society in which civil protest has real force, but the presence of clan-patriarchal system, ethnic conflicts, the tendency to use force and the weakness of the central government do not allow building a civil society in this country. Turkmenistan is characterized by boundless authoritarianism, and Tajikistan is the only country that has survived a fierce civil war in which the Islamic religion is most powerful. Each of the five Central Asian states has its own unique characteristics, but none of them has built a civil and democratic society, and the transformation cause of political regimes into democracies remains at the level of rhetoric. In these countries, political alterations have affected mainly the area of institutions, without changing the semi-feudal procedures and practices, and the process of democratization itself has been limited to pseudo-reforms. Civilizational and local-cultural features make the values of civil society unattractive not only for political elites, but also for the majority of the population, thus in the near future we can hardly expect significant progress in this direction. Moreover, Central Asian countries are under the influence of three powerful regional leaders –Russia, China and Iran – whose cultural and historical values are far from Western liberal-democratic ones. The situation is further complicated by the factor of Islamic fundamentalism, which will almost certainly intensify after the Taliban's victory in Afghanistan.

THE ROLE OF CIVIL SOCIETY IN THE CONTEXT OF THE INTEGRATION OF CENTRAL ASIA

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 34-42
Author(s):  
Sanjar Saidov ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Scientific Article ◽  
Social Partnership ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
Political Processes ◽  
Central Asian ◽  
Political Cooperation ◽  
Asian Integration

Today socio-political processes in the world pose a number of urgent problems for the region and countries. Along with governments, civil society is also actively involved in many issues, including security, poverty prevention, countering global threats, climate change and solving environmental problems, as well as ensuring democracy and the rule of law. As states participate in mutual political cooperation and integration, civil society will also expand its participation in these processes based on the principle of social partnership. In this context, a truly civil society plays an important role in the process of cooperation, including the integration of the Central Asian region.This scientific article analyzes the results of a sociological survey conducted among scientists and researchers working in all countries of the region, on the topic "The role and participation of civil society in the context of Central Asian integration

Ethnicity and Civil Society in Contemporary Afghanistan

2005 ◽  
Vol 59 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-51 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carol J. Riphenburg
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Ethnic Groups ◽  
Conceptual Models ◽  
Democratic Governance ◽  
Critical Question ◽  
The North ◽  
Central Asian ◽  
International Donor ◽  
Per Se ◽  
Ethnicity And Politics

This article focuses on the critical question of ethnicity and politics in Afghanistan. It examines current conceptual models of ethnicity and their application to present-day political affairs in the country. Research shows that it is not the presence of ethnic groups per se that leads to violence or instability but the absence of civil society and democratic governance and norms. Lessons may be drawn from Afghanistan's neighbors to the north. These Central Asian nations present cases of emerging civil societies, which are fragile, fragmented, and strongly influenced by the international donor community. After 23 years of war in Afghanistan, repression and neglect have had a devastating effect on civil society.

The Emergence of Civil Society

1991 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 76-78
Author(s):  
Natalia Sadomskaya
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Central Asia ◽  
The State ◽  
Democratic Institutions ◽  
Socialist System ◽  
Central Asian ◽  
Central Asian Republics

Now Iam not concerned with definitions. Instead I would like to discuss very briefly the appearance of three organizations in Central Asia that are independent of the state. Everyone knows about the popular fronts in the Baltics; everyone has heard presentations about Ukraine, Belorussia, and Moldavia. I decided, therefore, to take the “hopeless” people, about whom one Soviet diplomat said two years ago: “They are not ready yet for democracy because they have jumped from the feudal system to the socialist system, avoiding your wonderful capitalistic stage when you created democratic institutions.” I want to demonstrate that democratic institutions were indeed created independently from the state in these Central Asian republics.

Civil Society and Patterns of Security in Central Asia

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 109-119
Author(s):  
Christoph Schuck ◽  
Andreas Vasilache
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Central Asia ◽  
Political Stability ◽  
Asian Countries ◽  
Societal Transformation ◽  
Social Challenges ◽  
Security Issues ◽  
Central Asian ◽  
State And Society ◽  
Central Asian Countries

Abstract Since the national independence of the Central Asian countries in the early 1990s, there has been a tension between stability- and transformation-oriented rationalities, goals, and policies. However, the concurrent missions of political stability and societal transformation indicate a clear distinction between state and society. This idea of separating state and society is particularly strong with regard to security issues, but this strict separation is likely to produce contradictory goals and to have dysfunctional consequences, since it prevents the political system from benefitting from the contribution that civil society can make to addressing political and social challenges. Therefore, in this article—which also serves as an introduction to the special issue—we argue that it is necessary to bridge the discourses on security and civil society, with a particular focus on Central Asia.

scholarly journals Activities of US Grant Foundations and Non-Governmental Organizations in Central Asian Countries

2021 ◽  
pp. 115-129
Author(s):  
N. Silakov
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Central Asia ◽  
Asian Countries ◽  
Private Foundations ◽  
Governmental Organizations ◽  
Non Governmental Organizations ◽  
Central Asian ◽  
The Us ◽  
Central Asian Countries

The article analyzes the interrelation of the US grant foundations and non-governmental organizations with the civil society in Central Asia from 2000 to 2020. Main priorities of their activities in each country of the region and evolution of their approaches depending on domestic and foreign policy events and trends are explored. The dynamics of project activities of private foundations financing socio-humanitarian and socio-political spheres is also analyzed.

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