Barbara Beyer 
Central Asia: Perspectives and Present Challenges [PDF ebook] 

Locating on the Silk Road, blue domes are one of the most significant shapes in the architecture of Central Asia. The opening chapter of Central Asia: Perspectives and Present Challenges aims to identify and address the unique features of conical and pointed domes, which topped a majority of distinct buildings in the cities of Merv, Samarkand, Bukhara, and Khiva from the Parthian to the Shaybanids era. The following study is devoted to the problem of joint use of water resources of transboundary rivers by the countries of the Aral Sea basin. 90% of the region’s water resources are concentrated in Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, and irrigated agriculture is the base of the economies of Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan, thus creating a conflict of interest. The concluding study utilizes a process tracing approach to construct an analytical narrative of the civil war in Tajikistan. This analysis demonstrates that the state and the insurgency can mutually constitute and transform one another during civil war.