The five Central Asian states of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan constitute an area of increasing importance in global politics. The region currently serves as the main route for transporting American and NATO supplies and personnel into Afghanistan. Its Turkic Muslim peoples share ethnic and religious roots with China’s Uighurs in neighboring Xinjiang, where some Uighurs have connections to the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan, fueling Beijing’s already acute fears of terrorism and separatism.
Perhaps most importantly, the Caspian basin holds immense reserves of oil and natural gas. Countries rich in hydrocarbons—like Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan—can benefit greatly from this wealth, but often they must rely on foreign companies (usually backed by foreign governments) to develop these resources. Revolts in Kyrgyzstan (in 2005 and 2010) and Uzbekistan (in 2005); Tajikistan’s civil war (in the 1990s); and continued terrorist incidents (2010–2011), strikes, and suicide bombings in Kazakhstan (in 2011) have contributed to concerns about stability in the region.
In Civil Society and Politics in Central Asia, a prominent group of scholars assesses both the area’s manifold problems and its emerging potential, examining the often uneasy relationship between its states and the societies they govern. A meticulously in-depth study, the volume demonstrates the fascinating cultural complexity and diversity of Central Asia. Small, landlocked, and surrounded by larger powers, Central Asian nations have become adept at playing their neighbors against each other in order to maximize their own abilities to maneuver. The essays in this book look beyond the surface of Central Asian politics to discover the forces that are working for political change and continuity in this critical region of the world.
Inhoudsopgave
Introduction: Civil Society and Politics in Central Asia
Social Capital and Development of Civil Society in Central Asia: A Path Dependency Perspective
Islamization and Civil Society in Central Asia: Religion as Substrate in Conflict Management and Social Stability
Islamic Revival and Civil Society in Kazakhstan
Negotiating Social Activism: National Minority Associations in Kazakhstan or the Other Face of ‘Civil Society’
Non-State Health Care Provision in Central Asia: Cooperative or Competitive?
Civil Service and Public Satisfaction: From Functions to Services—the Case of Kazakhstan
Civil Society in a Period of Transition: The Perspective from the State
In Good Times and Hard Times: Civil Society Roles in Kyrgyzstan Today
Civil Society in Chains: The Dynamics of Socio-Political Relations in Turkmenistan
Bridging the Divide Between Neoliberal and Communal Civil Society in Tajikistan
State, Civil Society Actors, and Political Instabilities in Post-Soviet Kyrgyzstan: The Changing International Context
Conclusion
Over de auteur
Charles E. Ziegler is professor of political science and Distinguished University Scholar at the University of Louisville. He is the author or coeditor of several books, including Russia’s Far East: A Region at Risk and Foreign Policy and East Asia: Learning and Adaptation in the Gorbachev Era.
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