{"title":"‘Listening State?’: exploring citizens’ perceptions of Open Government in Tokayev’s Kazakhstan","authors":"Bakhytzhan Kurmanov, Urazgali Selteyev, Anuar Almaganbetov","doi":"10.1080/02634937.2023.2268652","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/02634937.2023.2268652","url":null,"abstract":"The Open Government reform has been actively adopted across various non-democratic regimes, including post-Soviet Central Asia. The reform is supposed to bolster responsiveness and transparency thr...","PeriodicalId":46602,"journal":{"name":"Central Asian Survey","volume":"77 12","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2023-10-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"71435711","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The conceptual evolution of poverty alleviation through labour transfer in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region","authors":"Adrian Zenz","doi":"10.1080/02634937.2023.2227225","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/02634937.2023.2227225","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT This paper argues that in China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, work placements of re-education detainees and Xinjiang’s implementation of the national Poverty Alleviation through Labor Transfer programme for the transfer of rural surplus labourers operate under fundamentally different policies. Drawing on new documentary and witness evidence, it is argued that within Xinjiang’s unique context of frontier settler colonialism, its recent coercive labour transfer programme evolved alongside decades-long efforts to facilitate surplus labour transfers throughout China. From 2014, when Beijing shifted the region’s work focus towards de-extremification, Uyghur underemployment was framed as a matter of social stability and national security. Between 2017 and 2019, labour transfer coercion dramatically increased alongside campaigns of mass internment and of enforcing poverty alleviation work goals. Xinjiang’s shift in 2021 from a campaign-style mobilizational to an institutionalized approach deepens coercive risks of this often poorly understood coercive labour strategy.","PeriodicalId":46602,"journal":{"name":"Central Asian Survey","volume":"4 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135170213","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"‘What have you done, brother Putin?’: Everyday geopolitics and Central Asian labour migration to Russia","authors":"Sherzod Eraliev, Rustamjon Urinboyev","doi":"10.1080/02634937.2023.2266519","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/02634937.2023.2266519","url":null,"abstract":"The geopolitical positioning of Central Asia as the centre of the ‘Eurasian Heartland’ has been the subject of extensive debates in academic and policy circles over the last three decades. However,...","PeriodicalId":46602,"journal":{"name":"Central Asian Survey","volume":"6 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2023-10-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"71417195","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Working with the Taliban: from the first to the second Emirate","authors":"Astri Suhrke, Susanne Schmeidl","doi":"10.1080/02634937.2023.2228346","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/02634937.2023.2228346","url":null,"abstract":"Nearly two years after the Taliban seized power in Kabul, in August 2021, the international aid community continued to search for workable approaches to deal with the new situation. Afghanistan’s d...","PeriodicalId":46602,"journal":{"name":"Central Asian Survey","volume":"26 16","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2023-10-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"50166870","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Gorno-Badakhshan and Karakalpakstan since 1991: understanding territorial autonomy in Central Asia","authors":"Ivan Ulises Kłyszcz","doi":"10.1080/02634937.2023.2233557","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/02634937.2023.2233557","url":null,"abstract":"The two Central Asian autonomies of Gorno-Badakhshan and Karakalpakstan have functionally the same competencies as other regions in their respective countries. And yet their autonomous status has p...","PeriodicalId":46602,"journal":{"name":"Central Asian Survey","volume":"26 14","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2023-10-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"50166871","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Was the prehistoric man an Azeri nationalist?: Mobilized prehistory and nation-building in Azerbaijan","authors":"Uri Rosenberg","doi":"10.1080/02634937.2023.2256796","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/02634937.2023.2256796","url":null,"abstract":"Gobustan, a prehistoric site 60 km south of Baku, has an impressive collection of rock carvings from different prehistoric eras. Near the site, a national museum presents the prehistoric findings in a narrative that connects them with modern-day Azerbaijan, calling the hunter–gatherer tribes that lived in Gobustan ‘our ancient Azerbaijani ancestors’. While many nation-building projects dig deep into the past, reconstruct it, claim ancient civilizations as their own and sometimes even invent historical narratives that never happened, the Gobustan Museum and the narrative it implies (that prehistoric people living in 15,000 BCE were Azerbaijanis) seems like ‘overkill’, an exaggerated effort to connect the past and the present. The data from the museum points to a larger story: the construction of national identity and collective memory in post-Soviet Azerbaijan. This paper presents some of the author’s anthropological field research findings in the museum and explains why the narrative of ‘ancientness’ is so essential in post-Soviet Azerbaijan.","PeriodicalId":46602,"journal":{"name":"Central Asian Survey","volume":"141 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135816111","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Civil society, social capital and development in Central Asia","authors":"Kemel Toktomushev","doi":"10.1080/02634937.2023.2244528","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/02634937.2023.2244528","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT There is a paradox of social capital in Central Asia. Despite the efforts of the international community to promote civil society in the region, Central Asia has one of the most restrictive environments for associational life. Accordingly, the main goal of this paper is to change discourses about civil society in Central Asia and call for more research on the impact of social capital on development outcomes. Development efforts should recognize that besides non-governmental organisations, other networks and associated norms of reciprocity can foster positive social capital for the transformation of the region.","PeriodicalId":46602,"journal":{"name":"Central Asian Survey","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2023-09-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46962370","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The ‘Pragmatic cooperation’ in the Belt and Road Initiative: the Sino-Turkmen natural gas engagement","authors":"Qian Liu, Xiaoguang Wang, Xue Lv","doi":"10.1080/02634937.2023.2243991","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/02634937.2023.2243991","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT This article examines China’s ‘pragmatic cooperation’ approach in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) using the Sino-Turkmen natural gas engagement as a case study. The disputes between China and Turkmenistan about the natural gas pricing mechanism, supply and prospective development have worsened after the request for pragmatic cooperation within the BRI. This article suggests that depoliticized economic diplomacy – such as advocating for pragmatic cooperation – does not necessarily avoid political disputes. Instead, mutual awareness is the key to achieving a win–win result.","PeriodicalId":46602,"journal":{"name":"Central Asian Survey","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2023-09-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42851751","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
A. Bekmagambetov, Jason Gainous, Kevin M. Wagner, Z. Sabitov, A. Rodionov, B. Kleinsteuber
{"title":"Digital media consumption and voting among Central Asian youth: why democratic context matters","authors":"A. Bekmagambetov, Jason Gainous, Kevin M. Wagner, Z. Sabitov, A. Rodionov, B. Kleinsteuber","doi":"10.1080/02634937.2023.2237519","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/02634937.2023.2237519","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT A wealth of research examines the relationship between digital media consumption and political participation. Research typically defines participation broadly and focuses on Western contexts. We seek to add to the understanding of this relationship by focusing more directly on the relationship between digital media consumption and the propensity to vote among young people in a less democratic context. To do so, we examine a set of Central Asian countries (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan) that have varying degrees of democratization. We test whether digital media consumption stimulates voting among respondents aged 18–30, and if this is contingent on how free and fair are the elections. Our results suggest that in the most democratic country, Kyrgyzstan, the relationship between digital media use and the propensity to vote is relatively flat while digital media use in less democratic countries, overall, is associated with a decrease in the propensity to vote.","PeriodicalId":46602,"journal":{"name":"Central Asian Survey","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2023-08-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43431847","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"‘Why wave the flag?’: (in)visible queer activism in authoritarian Kazakhstan and Russia","authors":"M. Levitanus, Polina Kislitsyna","doi":"10.1080/02634937.2023.2234955","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/02634937.2023.2234955","url":null,"abstract":"Western queer politics aspires to increase the visibility of queer subjects who have been highly regulated in Kazakhstan and Russia. Drawing on three interview studies conducted in 2017 and 2018 in Kazakhstan and Russia, respectively, this article examines and compares narratives on queer activism in both countries. Our fi ndings reveal how visibility has an ambivalent meaning for queer people in these cases. For many, public queer activism is perceived as vulnerable and risky, therefore alternative, less ‘ visible ’ , methods of activism are preferred and deemed more useful. For example, participants in our studies mentioned using social media, signing petitions and taking part in educational initiatives as alternative forms of queer activism. The article deliberates the pursuit and applicability of representational visibility politics within queer activism in Kazakhstan and Russia ’ s fl uctuating contexts.","PeriodicalId":46602,"journal":{"name":"Central Asian Survey","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2023-08-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49222458","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}