The Transformation of Central Asia

by Luong, Pauline Jones

• ISBN13: 9780801441516
• ISBN10: 080144151X
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2003-12-01
• Publisher: Cornell Univ Pr

Summary

With the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, former Communist Party leaders in Central Asia were faced with the daunting task of building states where they previously had not existed - Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. Their task was complicated by the institutional and ideological legacy of the Soviet system as well as by a more actively engaged international community. These nascent states inherited a set of institutions that included bloated bureaucracies, centralized economic planning, and patronage networks. Some of these institutions survived, others have mutated, and new institutions have been created. Experts on Central Asia here examine the emerging relationship between state actors and social forces in the region. Through the prism of local institutions, the authors reassess both our understanding of Central Asia and of the state-building process more broadly. They scrutinize a wide array of institutional actors, ranging from regional governments and neighborhood committees to transnational and non-governmental organizations. With original empirical research and theoretical insight, the volume's contributors illuminate an obscure but resource-rich and strategically significant region.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	ix
List of Acronyms	xi
Introduction
Politics in the Periphery: Competing Views of Central Asian States and Societies	1	(28)
Pauline Jones Luong
PART 1: THE RETREAT OF THE STATE: Women and the Social Sphere
Between Women and the State: Mahalla Committees and Social Welfare in Uzbekistan	29	(30)
Marianne Kamp
Women, Marriage, and the Nation-State: The Rise of Nonconsensual Bride Kidnapping in Post-Soviet Kazakhstan	59	(34)
Cynthia Werner
PART 2: LINKING STATE AND SOCIETY: Culture and Language
Cultural Elites in Uzbekistan: Ideological Production and the State	93	(27)
Laura Adams
A Shrinking Reach of the State? Language Policy and Implementation in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan	120	(39)
Bhavna Dave
PART 3: THE STATE AGAINST ITSELF: Central-Regional Relations
The Limits of Centralization: Regional Challenges in Uzbekistan	159	(23)
Alisher Ilkhamov
Economic ``Decentralization'' in Kazakhstan: Causes and Consequences	182	(31)
Pauline Jones Luong
PART 4: REDEFINING THE STATE: Internal and External Forces
The Civic Realm in Kyrgyzstan: Soviet Economic Legacies and Activists' Expectations	213	(33)
Kelly M. McMann
Beyond the State: Transnational Actors, NGOs, and Environmental Protection in Central Asia	246	(25)
Erika Weinthal
Conclusion: Central Asia's Contribution to Theories of the State	271	(12)
Pauline Jones Luong
List of Foreign Words	283	(4)
Bibliography	287	(28)
Contributors	315	(2)
Index	317