Geography in the Republics of Central Asia

A review of the last 50 years of geographic research in the four Central Asian republics of Uzbekistan, Kirghizia, Tadzhikistan, and Turkmenia, where the dominant desert and mountain landscapes impose a specific character on geographic investigations. Physical geography has tended to focus on glaciation in mountains and on surface runoff in the desert as potential sources of water for irrigation. Economic geography has emphasized the utilization of desert pastures.     

The Origins of the Apple in Central Asia

Journal of World Prehistory - The study of agricultural origins has been revolutionized by genomic science. Whole genome sequencing of plant domesticates opens a door to multiple new approaches by...     

论中亚的民族主义问题

本民族主义在中亚各国的表现进行了综合分析,特别对各国主体民族意识方面的表现进行了阐述。作认为,尽管中亚国家的民族自我中心主义对提升主体民族的凝聚力有帮助作用,然而却导致了非主体民族与主体民族的矛盾,甚至产生了危害国家安全的异己力量。中亚国家的民族主义思潮严重影响到中亚地区的社会稳定,对我国西北边疆地区的社会稳定也带来消极的影响。中亚国家已经认识到民族主义的危害,并采取了相应的对策,抵制民族主义的泛滥,携手共同打击民族分裂主义势力、宗教极端主义势力和国际恐怖主义势力等三股恶势力。     

Basic Problems of the Transformation of Nature in Central Asia

A review of broad research problems leading to ultimate transformation of the Central Asian environment for the purpose of expanding irrigated agriculture and desert grazing. The problems are: land resources and reclamation needs for irrigation purposes; the water and salt regime of irrigated fields, regional types and methods of control; the water and salt budget of irrigated areas and means of determining and regulating it; the hydrologic cycle of Central Asia and ways of transforming it for irrigation purposes; and the use of forage and water resources for expanding the desert grazing economy.     

浅析中亚国家的社会分化与整合

本文通过对中亚国家独立十年来的民族社会结构分化与社会整合等问题的探讨 ,揭示了中亚各国在独立道路上所遇到的困难与波折 ,分析了中亚各国的社会发展情况。从社会结构的分化上来说 ,中亚各国独立十年来体现在各领域的分层十分明显。从社会整合方面来讲 ,由于前苏联人为地造成的资源分配的不平衡 ,导致中亚各国资源利用上的匮乏 ,致使其政治系统的正常运行受到严重的打击 ,结果给中亚各国的社会整合带来了较大的困难。目前中亚各国的社会整合任重而道远 ,需要社会各部分力量的相互协调与合作。     

略论中亚突厥系民族对成吉思汗的尊崇

本文从人类学的视角考察了14世纪以来中亚突厥系民族尊崇成吉思汗的种种表现,指出成吉思汗崇拜在中亚是一种超民族、超语言、超宗教的涵盖了从政治领域到民间文化各层面的精神信仰,并阐释了这种崇拜长期存在的原因。     

China's Belt and Road Initiative in Central Asia and the Middle East

China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) aims at connecting the continents of Asia, Europe, and Africa through a combination of infrastructure projects and soft‐power programs. All of the six land bridges and maritime routes under the BRI extend westward, mostly passing through Central Asia and the Middle East on land or by sea. Cooperation with countries in these regions will, according to China's design, meet its domestic energy needs, and grow the country's economy. China recognizes, however, that in Central Asia and the Middle East, the risks posed by what it calls the “Three Evils” — terrorism, extremism, and separatism can impact the success of the BRI. They can also impact stability in its own adjacent areas, including Xinjiang. Therefore, in concert with the BRI, China is also identifying and deploying bilateral and multilateral diplomatic mechanisms aimed at security coordination with BRI countries in these two volatile regions. This article provides an overview of BRI developments in the two regions and examines some of the diplomatic mechanisms China is using to coordinate security and reduce risks.     

外国人士中亚游记简析

中亚地区一向是东西方学关注和研究的领域,并以此为热点,在不同时期写下了形式不一的考察探险报告,极大地丰富了中亚历史献。本主要通过对国外学中亚游记的概况介绍,以期对中亚学科研究提供一定的借鉴和参考。     

The predicament of 'civil society' in Central Asia and the 'Greater Middle East'

This article discuses the concept of 'civil society' and how it has been used by the international community to promote democratization. It addresses some of the dimensions and side-effects of the policy, such as the relationship with traditional societies and power networks. It also addresses the importance of attending to the conditions of implementation, political issues such as nationalism and Islam, and political actors who may only have recent democratic credentials. Political democratization—free elections—is clearly popular in the Greater Middle East and Central Asia. During the last two years people have voted every time they have had the opportunity, despite the dangers. The debate concerning the compatibility of Islam and democracy overlooks the fact that the main obstacle to democratization in the area is usually not a religious but a secular authoritarian regime. The difficulty of building a democracy with people we do not consider to be democrats is discussed. There can be no democratization process without taking into account the mainstream Islamist parties and without acknowledging the importance of nationalism. There is a clash between the 'war on terror' approach and the call for elections: one cannot put Hamas and Hezbollah on the terrorist list and call for free elections in which both would emerge as legitimate and representative political movements.     

The Jewish Communities of Central Asia in the Medieval and Early Modern Periods

When the Jews first settled in Central Asia is uncertain, but circumstantial evidence clearly indicates that this happened at least two and a half thousand years ago. In the first millennium AD, the Jews lived only in cities no farther than 750?km east of the Caspian sea (in the eighth–eleventh centuries the sea was called Khazarian). Only later did they migrate to the central part of the region, to cities like Samarkand and Bukhara. It is possible that Jews from Khazaria joined them, since they already had tight trade connections with Central Asia and China. There is no trace of evidence regarding the existence of Jews in the entirety of Central Asia in the early sixteenth century. At the very end of the sixteenth century Bukhara became the new ethnoreligious center of the Jews in that region. In the first half of the nineteenth century, thanks to European travelers visiting Central Asia at that time, the term “Bukharan Jews” was assigned to this sub-ethnic Jewish group. Drawing on a wide range of primary and secondary source materials, this article aims to prove that the presence of Jews in Central Asia was not continuous, and therefore the modern Bukharan Jews are not descendants of the first Jewish settlers there. It also attempts to determine where Central Asia’s first Jewish population disappeared to.     

试论胡商在丝绸之路上的活动以及中原王朝对待胡商的政策

中国古代实行"重农抑商"的政策,但对外国商人则采取宽容的态度,胡商必须通过"过所"和"公验"才能进行商业活动,他们在丝路沿线不断建立贸易定居点.中原王朝对待来自域外的胡人历来施行怀柔政策,胡商在古代东西方的交流中扮演了重要角色,吐鲁番文书向我们揭示了这些胡商活动的一些特点.     

Principles in the pipeline: managing transatlantic values and interests in Central Asia

After a decade of relative neglect post‐Soviet Central Asia has become a foreign policy priority for the transatlantic community. Both the United States and Europe have engaged with the region in recent years in pursuit of new strategic interests, including maintaining military basing access in support of coalition operations in Afghanistan and securing the export of Central Asian oil and gas to the West. Despite this period of renewed engagement, however, the quality of democratic governance within the region remains poor, especially in comparison with other post‐communist regions that successfully completed their political transitions. In fact, the United States and the European Union have often tempered promoting their Central Asian democratization agendas in order to maintain access to these strategically important fixed assets. The transatlantic struggle to balance the pursuit of strategic interests and democratic values has been rendered more difficult by Russia's recent resurgence as a regional power. Backed by the Central Asian governments, Moscow has challenged the purpose and influence of western‐based international and non‐governmental organizations in the region, thereby further diminishing the transatlantic community's capacity to promote sustained democratic reforms.     

Household Incomes in Central Asia: The Case of Post-Soviet Kazakhstan

Two European geographers present the findings of a sizeable survey (n = 7,515) providing a detailed geographical analysis of household incomes and reliance on personal subsidiary garden plots across Kazakhstan. The authors focus on assessing the extent to which Kazakhstan's rising GDP during the post-Soviet period has coincided with an increase in the general population's personal income and ability to secure adequate food supplies for personal consumption. The fine geographical scale of analysis of the survey data (significantly less coarse than oblast-level data) enabled them to identify regions characterized by "trickle-down" income, largely centered on the country's two main urban centers and areas of resource exploitation. The patterns revealed in the paper have relevance to the debate concerning the uneven distribution of benefits from resource exploitation (notably oil and gas) to Kazakhstan's population. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: D100, D310, I300, Q120, R290. 2 figures, 6 tables, 51 references.     

The Kulbulak Bladelet Tradition in The Upper Paleolithic of Central Asia

The article describes lithic industries of the Upper Paleolithic levels of Kulbulak, Uzbekistan, a key site in southwestern Central Asia based on materials from excavations at several sites in the western and northwestern Pamir– Tien Shan region (Kulbulak, Kyzyl-Alma-2, Dodekatym-2, and Shugnou). A new cultural and technological tradition is introduced, for which the authors suggest the name Kulbulakian. Its distinctive features are the bladelet technique and a microlithic set including backed pieces and triangular microliths. Stages in the evolution of the Kulbulakian tradition are reconstructed: origins, development, peak, and disappearance of the carinated technology. Industries belonging to this tradition have shaped the general appearance of the Upper Paleolithic in the area in question.