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Elections in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan: The Challenges of Retaining Power
This article is part of a collaboration between the Foreign Policy Research Institute and the Oxus Society for Central Asian…
Exiting from a Sparse Hegemony: Central Asia’s Place in a Transforming Liberal International Order
This piece is a collaboration between the Foreign Policy Research Institute and the Oxus Society for Central Asian Affairs. As…
Ten Years Gone: The Legacy of the 2010 Revolution and Ethnic Violence in Kyrgyzstan: A Roundtable
Download PDF Eugene Huskey, Emil Dzhuraev, Gulzat Botoeva, and Nick Megoran Edited by John Heathershaw and Edward Lemon Introduction John…
Ethnographies of Islam in China
Rachel Harris, Guangtian Ha, and Maria Jaschok (eds). Ethnographies of Islam in China. (Honolulu, HI: University of Hawaii Press, 2020)…
“Kelinism” in Kyrgyzstan: Women’s Rights Versus Traditional Values
In traditional steppe society, nomadic Kyrgyz daughter-in-laws, known as “Kelins,” had to make a good impression on their new families…
Year in Review
Notwithstanding the challenges brought by the pandemic, the Oxus Society has had a fruitful first year. Thanks to the generous…
Paying Tribute to the “Last of the Great Masters of Central Asian Studies, “ Edward Allworth
Orhan Babakurban, a New York-based banker with roots in Central Asia, recently launched a tribute website to Edward Allworth (1920-2016),…
There Won’t be Political Reform in Uzbekistan. Here’s Why
On December 10, International Human Rights Day, a group of human rights defenders, activists, researchers, artists and filmmakers gathered in…
Introducing the Central Asia Migration Tracker
Download PDF By Sher Khashimov, Raushan Zhandayeva, Kymbat Nuranova and Zhibek Aisarina Central Asia’s population continues to grow rapidly, with…
The Second Tournament of Shadows and British Invasion Scares in Central Asia, 1919–1933
During the 19th century, Britain and Russia vied for influence in the territories between British India in the south and…
Italy and Central Asia: A Relationship on the Rise
On December 11, Italy and Uzbekistan held a virtual Business Forum attended by Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs Luigi Di…
Join us for Central Asia Trivia Night – Dec. 27 or Dec. 29
NOTE: We have postponed our December 27 trivia night until early in 2021. If you purchased a ticket on Eventbrite,…
Introducing the Scholars of Central Asia Book Database
The Scholars of Central Asia Book Database is intended to showcase the research of scholars from each of the Central…
Mubinjon Tadzhiev – Central Asia’s “Fastest” Man Offers a Glimpse into Bukhara’s History
“10.4 seconds on 100 meters and ‘Finish’! You can’t imagine how exceptional it was back then. A sprinter from Uzbekistan!…
China’s Non-Intervention in Afghanistan
As the current stage of conflict in Afghanistan works its way towards a conclusion, China needs to decide its role…
The Fight for the Right to Speak Kyrgyz in Kyrgyzstan’s Capital
On October 22, Kyrgyzstani businessperson and political activist Umay Arykova published a video filmed by a young Kyrgyz man at…
Safer and Fairer: The Value of Cooperative Approaches to Fieldwork
A longer version was originally published on The CESS Blog. Recent commentaries on reflexivity and the role of emotions in…
Central Asia in Russia’s Afghan Strategy
Moscow’s main goal is to prevent the reemergence of a strong U.S. influence in the region.
The Growing Influence of the United Arab Emirates in a Complex Central Asian Region
With vast energy sources and favorable geography, Central Asia has been subject to intense rivalries between Russia, China, Iran, Turkey,…
The Avengers vs the Orcs: Social Media Nuances in Kyrgyzstan’s (Almost) Third Revolution
On 5 October protests against the parliamentary election results in Kyrgyzstan erupted and on the night of the 6th led…
Four Poems From “A New Diwan (H/T Alisher Navoiy)”
My collection A New Diwan (h/t Alisher Navoiy) is a sequence of 84 short poems inspired by Uzbekistan, its literature…
India and Central Asia: the Strategic Dimension
Phunchok Stobdan, India and Central Asia: the Strategic Dimension, (New Dehli: KW Publishers, 2020). In 2017 Mehbooba Mufti, Chief Minister…
Dushanbe’s Potemkin Hotel: Nepotism and Public Integrity in Tajikistan
For over a decade, the empty shell of a multistory hotel has sat vacant on Rudaki Avenue, the central thoroughfare…
A Troubling Taboo: The Absence of Sex Education in Kazakhstan
Assel was 13 years old when her teacher attempted to educate her about sex. Visibly nervous, the teacher showed the…
Waiting for the Sea: An Interview with Director George Itzhak
Waiting for the Sea from George Itzhak on Vimeo. The film centers on a techno music festival in Moʻynoq, in…
After a Flawed Election: What Next for Tajikistan?
On October 11, a masked Emomali Rahmon cast his ballot in the sixth presidential election in the country’s 29-year history.…
Indian Shikarpuri Trader Communities in Central Asia
Shikarpur is a town in Sindh in modern-day Pakistan sitting at the mouth of the Bolan Pass, which was once…
The Growth, Adaptation and Limitations of Chinese Private Security Companies in Central Asia
In this paper, we explore the third strategy in China’s toolkit by examining the activities of Chinese PSCs in Central Asia, a region of vital importance to the success of the Belt and Road Initiative.
Polymaths of Islam: Power and Networks of Knowledge in Central Asia
James Pickett, Polymaths of Islam : Power and Networks of Knowledge in Central Asia, (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2020).…
Toxic Masculinity and Uzbekistan’s Domestic Violence Crisis
On September 3 Akida Mokhirova , blogger and founder of the charitable organization “Pokiza Insonlar” (“Noble People” in Uzbek), posted…
The Migration – Extremism Fallacy
Even if all 5,000 of the Central Asian fighters in Syria had been migrants in Russia at a particular moment in time, this would mean a migrant in Russia has a 0.05-0.1% chance of radicalizing, based on recent estimates of that community’s size. In other words, there is at least a 99.9% chance of not radicalizing.
As Sino-India Relations Enter Free-fall, New Delhi Finds Itself at the Margins of the SCO
High in the mountains of Ladakh, Asia’s economic giants India and China came to blows in June in their disputed…
London’s Anti-Kleptocracy Setback: A New Way Forward?
Earlier this year, overshadowed by both the pandemic and the ongoing global recession, the United Kingdom took one of its most substantial steps toward rooting out dirty post-Soviet money from British markets.
Avoiding Dependence? Central Asian Security in a Multipolar World
The U.S. is largely exiting the region as a security partner, while Moscow continues to retain a strategic edge over Beijing. But the gap is closing, and, if the trends continue, Moscow may find its influence further undermined in the coming decade.
Mapping Patterns of Dissent in Eurasia: Introducing the Central Asia Protest Tracker
The Central Asia Protest Tracker (CAPT) dataset produced by a team at the Oxus Society for Central Asian Affairs mapped out a total of 981 incidents in the five Central Asian republics.
Rock in Uzbekistan: A Voice of Diversity
It’s a Saturday night in the center of Tashkent. An unmarked door with a $1 entry fee leads you upstairs…
The Bukharan Crisis: A Connected History of 18th Century Central Asia
Producing a work like Scott Levi’s The Bukharan Crisis ought to be a mandatory service for every senior historian upon…