Central Asia and the Caucasus
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Published By "Science And Education, Ltd."

1404-6091

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 126-139
Author(s):  
Meiram KIKIMBAYEV ◽  
Kulshat MEDEUOVA ◽  
Adiya RAMAZANOVA

The authors have analyzed the dynamics of the growth of number of mosques built by religious associations in post-Soviet Kazakhstan and noted a transition from their unregulated and chaotic construction (proliferation) to their precise association with specific maddhabs, and their construction norms conceptualized by religious institutions represented by the Spiritual Administration of the Muslims of Kazakhstan (DUMK). The types of cultic facilities and the actors are discussed and ranked according to the type of their involvement and partnership. We should note that the participation of various actors adds weight to the status of mosques as important public facilities. The authors have paid particular attention to the religious communities’ revised registration realized under the Law of the RK on Religious Activities and Religious Associations of 2011, which optimized the religious space, consolidated the positions of traditional Islam and, hence, standardized the rules related to mosque construction. Keywords: mosque, public space, post-Soviet realities, re-Islamization, re-appropriation, “mosque diplomacy,” religious communities, traditional Islam, DUMK.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 104-111
Author(s):  
Victoria GALYAPINA ◽  
Oksana TUCHINA ◽  
Ivan APOLLONOV

The Armenian diaspora is one of the largest in Russia and in the world. The Armenians living in the Krasnodar Territory are a large and active group, thus, an investigation into the problem of their acculturation is of scientific and practical importance. Based on the theory of social identity, the theory of acculturation, and the regional socio-cultural context, the study focused on the role of ethnic, regional and Russian national (civic) identities and diaspora activity in the acculturation of the Armenians in the Krasnodar Territory. The study used the scales from the MIRIPS project questionnaire (Mutual Intercultural Relations in Plural Societies). The sample consisted of 181 respondents. Using structural equation modeling, the ethnic and Russian national identities of the Armenians living in the Krasnodar Territory were revealed as factors that contributed to their integration, and regional identity—as factors that fostered assimilation. Diaspora activity was determined by both ethnic and regional identity and predicted the Armenians’ attitudes towards integration and separation. Also, diaspora activity of the Armenians in the Kuban region facilitated the interconnection of ethnic and regional identities with the separation strategy. In general, the study revealed that all identities (ethnic, regional and Russian national) contribute to a certain degree to the acceptance of the host society culture by the Armenians in the Krasnodar Territory. At the same time, diaspora activity can be an effective mechanism for the adaptation of migrants or a source of problems associated with increased impenetrability of diaspora’s borders, the migrants’ exclusive focus on their ethnic group and their decreased desire for sociocultural integration into the host society. It is important to take this into account when shaping the regional interethnic relations policy.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 47-59
Author(s):  
Elena Garbuzarova

After gaining independence in 1991, the Central Asian states, which had no experience in conducting independent foreign policy activities, began to build their own foreign policy coordinate system and develop its conceptual framework. Given their unique geopolitical position and diverse resource potential, the regional states preferred to pursue an open and multi-vector foreign policy, which allowed them to realize their national interests. With regard to the transformational processes in global politics and economy, as well as the geopolitical characteristics of their states, the political elites of the regional states have developed their own approaches to foreign policy. The article analyzes the doctrinal foundations of the Central Asian countries’ foreign policy, and the influence of global factors on the foreign policy formation of the regional states and intraregional cooperation.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 59-70
Author(s):  
Larisa ALEKSANYAN

The newly independent states (South Caucasian countries being no exception), the products of the Soviet Union’s traumatic disintegration, needed independent foreign policies. Throughout the three decades of their independence they formulated their priorities and defined approaches and principles under strong pressure of certain factors. This process has been unfolding amid the complicated social and political processes and geopolitical transformations in the region shaken by the post-Soviet ethnic conflicts. As could be expected, the newly independent South Caucasian states opted for different routes in their economic and statehood development, while their ruling elites took into account the external and internal contexts when shaping their foreign policies. Different approaches and different foreign policy priorities opened the doors to non-regional geopolitical actors: the United States, the European Union, Iran and Turkey have joined Russia, whose presence is rooted in its past. Recently, China, Israel and Japan have become interested in the region. Thus, today the regional countries are orientated to the interests of non-regional states. This has not benefited the situation in the region or cooperation among the regional states. Foreign policy of the South Caucasian countries is inseparable from the regional security problems, which means that it should become an object of meticulous studies. In the latter half of 2020, the war in Nagorno-Karabakh changed the region’s geopolitical setting and shattered its stability. The article sums up the results of the policies pursued by the South Caucasian countries and identifies the challenges and possible developments in the region after the Karabakh war of 2020.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 71-83
Author(s):  
Nurettin CAN ◽  
Ibrahim KONCAK ◽  
Sanar MUHYADDIN ◽  
Ibrahim KELEŞ

This article studies the perception of great powers in the eyes of students in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan using data collected through an online survey. The research has compared the perceptions of China’s and other Great Powers’ economic, political, and military authority among the youth of Central Asian countries during the COVID-19 pandemic. To analyze these perceptions, young people from Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan (N = 262) took part in a survey in the spring of 2021. Responses were analyzed to reveal the differences in perception by applying descriptive and inferential statistical methods, i.e., one-sample t-test. An association of geodemographic factors with the perception towards global powers was discovered by applying the chi-square test statistical method. The early research revealed that the role of the other Great Powers was seen mainly in political terms, while China’s role was mostly economic, however, recent studies made it clear that China’s political influence is increasing in the region. Another finding from this research is that China’s position on human rights and environmental issues is more negatively perceived than that of the other Great powers.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 92-103
Author(s):  
Rustem KADYRZHANOV ◽  
Zhannat MAKASHEVA ◽  
Zhyldyz AMREBAYEVA ◽  
Aidar AMREBAYEV

The article examines the problem of sovereignty of the Republic of Kazakhstan through the prism of Kazakh-Russian interstate relations. The key conclusions made by the authors are that, first of all, Kazakh-Russian relations are based on the post-Soviet model and the concept of the sovereignty of the Republic of Kazakhstan, which retains significant elements of the Soviet constitutional model of relations between the Union center and the republics; secondly, as part of this sovereignty model, the Republic of Kazakhstan has to make concessions in the economic, financial and other forms of sovereignty. However, the Republic of Kazakhstan makes no concessions in matters of territorial integrity and other fundamental aspects of its sovereignty. Thirdly, it was easier for the Republic of Kazakhstan to maintain the image of the Russian Federation as a strategic partner between 1991 and the mid-2000s, but since that time, the Russian Federation has been pursuing an openly neo-imperial policy in the post-Soviet space, thus, the increasing securitization of the relations with the Russian Federation requires great efforts from the Republic of Kazakhstan to protect its sovereignty and territorial integrity.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 19-30
Author(s):  
Murat LAUMULIN ◽  
Svetlana KOZHIROVA

The article contains an overview of the activities of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA), a structure aimed at creating a comprehensive mechanism for developing and reconciling the positions of Asian countries on key security issues. The CICA is a forum that many regional states have joined as permanent participants. Eight countries and five international organizations, including the U.N., currently have an observer status at the CICA, which cooperates with existing regional organizations such as SCO, ASEAN, and OIC in a number of specific areas. The current concept of CICA’s work is aligned with five main spheres: military and political collaboration; the fight against new challenges and threats, including terrorism; drug trafficking; transnational crime and human trafficking; as well as the economic, environmental and human dimensions. Cooperation with the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, whose members (including the observer countries) are all also members of the Conference, will be of great importance for the further development of CICA. The presence of both resource-producing countries and large oil and gas importers in the organization creates the preconditions for the formation of an energy block within its framework, which will increase the energy security of its member states. The authors note that the interaction between ASEAN and the CICA can be based on five points required for building a “community of common destiny,” which were set forth by President of the People’s Republic of China Xi Jinping in Jakarta: (1) adhere to the principle of trust and strive for good neighborliness; (2) adhere to the principle of cooperation and mutual benefit; (3) constantly provide mutual assistance; (4) adhere to the principle of “living in perfect harmony”; (5) adhere to the principle of openness and tolerance. The authors note that the problem of Afghanistan can become a point of contact and development of joint approaches and strategies of the CICA and the OIC in the context of international and regional security. The author concludes that the transformation of the CICA into the Organization for Security and Development of Asia, proposed by Kazakhstan, would mean an expansion of the conference format and a turn towards solving new problems. In addition, the urgent task of the CICA at present is the transition to qualitatively new levels of cooperation—preventive diplomacy and conflict prevention.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Oleg KARPOVICH

Following the disintegration of the Soviet Union, the new Central Asian independent states of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan replaced the Soviet republics of Central (Sredniaia) Asia and Kazakhstan. By the time they gained independence, these countries had already developed specific mechanisms of governance: The Communist Party and state structures had relied, to a great extent, on certain regional clan principles of decision-making inherited from their distant past. The new states immediately declared that they would strive to build Western-style political systems. They elected their presidents and parliaments, set up judicial systems, yet the political elites proved unable to realize the democratic standards of the West they supported in words. Over the course of three decades, heads of state, who dominated and still remain the dominant figures in their countries and are responsible for domestic and foreign policies have replaced each other without any real competition. None of the regional states can boast of competitive presidential elections. On the other hand, even though their political development may have external similarities, there are still numerous differences rooted in their very different past, cultures and mentalities. The regional clan division, swept under the carpet during the Soviet period, was revived as an important and highly influential feature. Kazakhstan was divided into zhuzes; Kyrgyzstan is in the midst of an ongoing regional confrontation between the South and the North; in Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan regional clans have gradually gained a lot of political weight. This means that the leaders of all Central Asian countries had no choice but to take into account the interests of groups and clans and the ties between different tribes, which inevitably affected the principles of governance and choice of officials. The personal characteristics of leaders who came to power after the Soviet Union had left the stage and their interpretations of the ongoing processes played a huge role in regional developments, the relationships between the regional states, the regional balance of power and the political situation. Today, all the above-mentioned countries with the exception of Tajikistan, have elected new presidents either amid domestic political turmoil or through a power transit within the same group. This means that in all Central Asian countries presidential elections are not seen as an instrument of change of power but, rather, as an instrument of remaining in power. The complicated economic situation, the non-regional actors that put pressure on the local political elites and, recently, the COVID-19 pandemic, which intensified the social and economic problems, did nothing positive for the political and economic stability in Central Asia.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 112-125
Author(s):  
Galina OSADCHAYA ◽  
Egor KIREEV ◽  
Evgenia KISELEVA ◽  
Anna CHERNIKOVA

The significant numbers of migrants from Kyrgyzstan in Moscow and the difficulties in adapting to the new conditions recorded by our research highlight the need to explore the adaptive capacity of young Kyrgyz. The lack of scientific knowledge about the potential adaptive capacities of different groups of young Kyrgyz hinders the creation of optimal conditions that would allow them to internalize norms, values, and rules of behavior, increases the potential for conflict in the Moscow community, makes the life of migrants less comfortable, and complicates integration processes in the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). The purpose of this study is to characterize the adaptive capacity of young people from Kyrgyzstan in Moscow that helps them fit into the social environment, allows them to overcome the discomfort caused by the contradictory social context and unfamiliar living conditions, and influences their success in the host community and their attitudes to integration. The analysis presented in this article rests on empirical data obtained from a structured interview with 823 migrants, citizens of Kyrgyzstan aged 17 to 30 years, conducted in 2020. The novelty of the study lies in a systemic examination and comprehensive assessment of the social adaptation capacity of this social community, because up to now publications on this topic have considered only some aspects of the phenomenon. In this article, “adaptive capacity” refers to the set of individual characteristics of migrants that ensures their inclusion into the host society, a change in previous norms and models of behavior, and the socialization of new behavior models emerging in the process of interaction between the individual and the new socio-cultural conditions of life and work as the synergistic effect of the relationship and interaction between the adaptive capacity of the individual and that of the environment. Its analysis is based on a description of expectations, perceptions, and social attitudes; the level of empathy, openness and complementarity with regard to the host community; and the degree of tolerance for people of other nationalities and identities. The article shows how migrants evaluate the adaptive capacity of the environment as resulting from coordinated, concerted, and friendly action by all stakeholders: government, employers, and local population. It also analyzes the associations that arise in connection with Russia. The study reveals the impact of migrants’ adaptive capacity on their attitudes to integration processes in the EAEU. It was shown that notions about the nature of the interaction between Muscovites and migrants that is necessary to harmonize the individual and the environment (assimilation, bicultural adaptation or separation) determine the depth and direction of the activities of young migrants and their assessments of concrete social reality, while their strategic preferences with regard to the cultural norms and values of other peoples determine the adaptation attitudes and strategies that largely characterize their adaptive capacity. These strategies are as follows: marginalization of young Kyrgyz in the Moscow community, complementarity, and internalization of dominant norms. The research conducted suggests the need for measures to improve interaction between migrants and the host society and provides grounds for the Eurasian Economic Commission and social institutions in Russia and Kyrgyzstan to develop measures designed to create conditions for adaptation, as well as to determine the appropriate instruments and mechanisms for this purpose. This research paves the way for developing a theory of social adaptation of migrants, for empirical research into migration processes in the post-Soviet space, and for a better understanding of the specific features of social adaptation of young people from Kyrgyzstan.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gulzhamal ALIYEVA

The article examines interstate cooperation between Kazakhstan and Russia on transboundary environmental issues. An analysis of the environmental policy of Kazakhstan and Russia is carried out, and the key norms of the two countries’ environmental legislation are examined to determine the foundations and mechanisms for solving shared environmental problems. The role and ongoing policy of Kazakhstan’s central state body in the environmental protection sphere as a tool for solving environmental problems is determined. The main reasons for the environmental problems of the Ural and Ishim river basins and the biological diversity of the border areas of Russia and Kazakhstan are discussed. Priority prospects for environmental cooperation are highlighted in relation to the countries’ common transboundary environmental problems, including cooperation potential within the framework of the Eurasian Economic Space.


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