‘We disputed every word’: how Kyrgyzstan's moderates tame ethnic nationalism

In post‐violence Kyrgyzstan, a small group of civic‐minded nationalists are fighting to tame extremist voices by formulating their own reconciliation policies. These moderates have adopted several strategies, including persuasion and bargaining with nationalistic elites. This process is not without its limitations. Important issues, such as forging a civic identity for the majority ethnic group, remain unaddressed. Still, moderates' policy achievements and concrete actions are likely to continue to undercut nationalist rhetoric. The case of Kyrgyzstan offers one possible alternative to the Soviet paradigm of framing nationhood alongside citizenship.     

Marital instability in the context of dramatic societal change: the case of Kyrgyzstan

ABSTRACT

How do marriages fare during times of dramatic social, political and economic transition? Transitional societies offer a unique context for studying marital instability as they are often buffeted by countervailing forces of modernisation and re-traditionalisation, in addition to socio-economic and political changes. Using detailed and rich data from Kyrgyzstan, the study investigates trends over time in marital instability in response to societal upheavals and gradual secular transformations; ethnic group-specific responses in marital instability; and the role of changing gender regimes in marital instability. The findings reveal an increase in the rate of marital dissolution over time. However, ethnic group-specific differentials remained significant, mirroring the historically shaped relative positioning of the groups in the process of demographic change. The results also highlight gender differentials in the influence of education and employment on marital instability. The findings are discussed within the broader framework of demographic and social changes in transitional Central Asia.     

Interethnic Tensions in Kyrgyzstan: A Political Geographic Perspective

Two U.S. geographers review an array of intertwining political geographic issues that provide context and set the stage for deadly armed conflict between groups of ethnic Uzbeks and Kyrgyz in the southern Kyrgyzstan city of Osh in June 2010. Applying a disaggregated and localized approach to understanding the ambiguous and complex factors underlying the current instability in Kyrgyzstan, they focus on: the role of north-south political competition; the country's uneasy economic relationship with its western neighbor, Uzbekistan; widespread official corruption and the penetration of organized crime into government structures; as well as broader geopolitical issues. The latter include Tashkent's policy toward the Uzbek diaspora, perceived threats from international terrorism/Islamist fundamentalism, the potential for the export of a "color revolution" to Uzbekistan, the presence of U.S. and Russian military forces in Central Asia, and the relative ineffectiveness of regional security structures such as the Collective Security Treaty Organization.     

How Capitalism Was Built. The Transformation of Central and Eastern Europe,Russia, and Central Asia. Anders Åslund

An American political geographer and noted specialist in the electoral geography of the post-Soviet states explores the extent to which underlying social, political, and economic conditions in North African countries experiencing regime change prompted by mass political unrest (Egypt, Tunisia) resemble those prevailing in the five Central Asian states. The author compares the countries' rankings on a number of relevant indicators (e.g., Human Development Index, Corruption Perceptions Index, Freedom House indices of political rights and civil liberties) before undertaking a more qualitative assessment of human rights, institutional control, and external support for current Central Asian regimes. Although Uzbekistan, the most populous state with the most repressive regime in the region, is a focus of attention, the same abuses and challenges are evident, albeit in varying degrees, in other vulnerable post-Soviet countries of Central Asia.     

Regional and Thematic Index, 2002-2007

A U.S.-based political scientist specializing in the complexities of international freshwater basins considers the role of two fundamental factors (geography and relative power) in the study of hydro-politics. Conventional analyses claim that in asymmetric contexts the more powerful state (in relative power terms) is able to dictate the status quo. Arguing, however, that such traditional (and even some critical) analyses tend to downplay the importance of geography, the author investigates how a state's physical position along a river may provide an otherwise weaker riparian state the means to challenge the status quo. The paper considers three cases (Tigris-Euphrates, Nile, and Aral Sea basins) with lessons for the study of power in hydro-politics.     

Composite Bows from Uch-kurbu in Kyrgyzstan

The article addresses the topic of composite bows from nomadic sites in Tien Shan and Zhetysu. Horn plates from bows discovered in 2008–2009 at Uch-Kurbu on the Tosor River, the Issyk-Kul Depression (Kyrgyzstan), are described and analyzed. The original design of the wooden core of the bow and the location of horn plates thereon are reconstructed. Based on our earlier classification of weapons, these are composite bows of the Xiongnu-Xianbei period. Two subtypes are identified, based on the design of plates at the ends of the bow. Evidently, composite bows with end, medio-lateral, and medio-frontal plates were the most efficient range weapon of the period.     

Entrepôt for Chinese Consumer Goods in Central Asia: The Puzzle of Re-exports through Kyrgyz Bazaars

Relying on mirror foreign trade statistics and their reconciliation with official data on balance of payments, two economists demonstrate the important role of bazaars as major conduits of trade in Central Asia, and particularly of Kyrgyz bazaars for the entry of Chinese consumer goods into the region. The authors estimate that in recent years up to three quarters of the goods imported by Kyrgyzstan have been unofficially re-exported to other Central Asian countries, generating substantial income for the Kyrgyz economy. A concluding section explores the implications of the re-export trade for Kyrgyzstan (e.g., positive spillovers for domestic light industry) as well as the potential emergence of new competitors (e.g., Kazakhstan).     

High-Altitude Agro-Pastoralism in the Kyrgyz Tien Shan: New Excavations of the Chap Farmstead (1065–825 cal b.c.)

ABSTRACT

The highlands of Central Asia posed considerable challenges to early agriculturalists, yet the processes of human subsistence strategies there remain poorly understood. In this paper, we present results from the excavation of the Chap in Kyrgyzstan. The recovery of a rich macrobotanical assemblage consisting of several crop species and crop processing debris, together with skeletal remains of pastoral livestock, indicate a localized agro-pastoral complex at 2000 masl dating to 1065–825 cal b.c. Aerial photogrammetry, magnetometry, and topographic modeling reveal local irrigation systems, while stone artifacts are linked with cultivation and crop processing. Furthermore, the ceramic assemblage reveals a local production tradition and stylistic similarities with communities of neighboring regions. Overall, data from Chap contribute to a new understanding of human ecology and agricultural development in the mountains of Central Asia, suggesting that domesticated plants and animals were integral for the intensive occupation of high-elevation valleys in Central Asia.     

The nation in bronze and granite: Creating national monuments in post-Soviet Bishkek

Scholars of nationalism have long looked to material forms of symbolic power to understand the politics and cultures of nations, and national monuments specifically have been studied as reflections of ideological programmes of political regimes. However, these approaches have paid insufficient attention to processes of creation. Given the importance of material symbols as sites through which the nation is understood, I argue that analysing the dynamics of creation expands our understanding of symbolic nation making. Using the case of Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, and focusing on moments of creation and the actors involved in them, I build a conceptual framework for understanding the construction of national symbols on the ground based on three interconnected and co-constituting dynamics: spatial, temporal and aesthetic/semiotic. Using this framework, I demonstrate how meaning and materiality are related to one another both as component and consequent in the creation of national monuments and how it is their very imperfection as material representations that provides the context for the nation to emerge as a category of discourse.