Civil Society in Central Asia

Civil Society in Central Asia PDF Author: M. Holt Ruffin
Publisher: University of Washington Press
ISBN: 0295800534
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 346

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Book Description
Central Asia, known as the home of Tamerlane and the Silk Road, is a crossroads of great cultures and civilizations. In 1991 five nations at the heart of the region—Kazakstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan— suddenly became independent. Today they sit strategically between Russia, China, and Iran and hold some of the world’s largest deposits of oil and natural gas. Long-suppressed ethnic identities are finding new expression in language, religion, and occasional civil conflicts. Civil Society in Central Asia is a pathbreaking collection of essays by scholars and activists that illuminates the social and institutional forces shaping this important region’s future. An appendix provides a guide to projects being carried out by local and international groups.

Civil Society in Central Asia

Civil Society in Central Asia PDF Author: M. Holt Ruffin
Publisher: University of Washington Press
ISBN: 0295800534
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 346

Get Book Here

Book Description
Central Asia, known as the home of Tamerlane and the Silk Road, is a crossroads of great cultures and civilizations. In 1991 five nations at the heart of the region—Kazakstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan— suddenly became independent. Today they sit strategically between Russia, China, and Iran and hold some of the world’s largest deposits of oil and natural gas. Long-suppressed ethnic identities are finding new expression in language, religion, and occasional civil conflicts. Civil Society in Central Asia is a pathbreaking collection of essays by scholars and activists that illuminates the social and institutional forces shaping this important region’s future. An appendix provides a guide to projects being carried out by local and international groups.

The Development of Civil Society in Central Asia

The Development of Civil Society in Central Asia PDF Author: Janice Giffen
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781897748756
Category : Asia, Central
Languages : en
Pages : 197

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Book Description
This book considers the applicability and use of civil society, both as a concept and in practice, in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. The volume examines whether civil society organisations (CSOs) are a progressive force for change, or a safety net. Various forms of CSOs are investigated: NGOs and community based organisations, trade unions, political parties and religious groups, as well as more long-standing soviet and traditional institutions and practices. The book contains lessons and perspectives about civil society growth across time, and considers future directions.

Central Asia and the Caucasus

Central Asia and the Caucasus PDF Author: Touraj Atabaki
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134319940
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 254

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Book Description
This book focuses on the dynamics among transnational forces within and beyond Central Asia and explores the roles played by diaspora communities in Central Asia and the Caucasus.

Engaging Central Asia

Engaging Central Asia PDF Author: Bhavna Dave
Publisher: CEPS
ISBN: 929079707X
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 196

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Book Description
"In July 2007, the European Union initiated a fundamentally new approach to the countries of Central Asia. The launch of the EU Strategy for Central Asia signals a qualitative shift in the Union's relations with a region of the world that is of growing importance as a supplier of energy, is geographically situated in a politically sensitive area - between China, Russia, Iran, Afghanistan and the south Caucasus - and contains some of the most authoritarian political regimes in the world. In this volume, leading specialists from Europe, the United States and Central Asia explore the key challenges facing the European Union as it seeks to balance its policies between enhancing the Union's energy, business and security interests in the region while strengthening social justice, democratisation efforts and the protection of human rights. With chapters devoted to the Union's bilateral relations with Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan and to the vital issues of security and democratisation, 'Engaging Central Asia' provides the first comprehensive analysis of the EU's strategic initiative in a part of the world that is fast emerging as one of the key regions of the 21st century."--BOOK JACKET.

Uzbekistan's New Face

Uzbekistan's New Face PDF Author: S. Frederick Starr
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1538124769
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 265

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Book Description
Uzbekistan, long considered the center of Central Asia, has the region’s largest population and borders every other regional state including Afghanistan. For the first 25 years of its independence, it adopted a cautious, defensive policy that emphasized sovereignty and treated regional efforts at cooperation with skepticism. But after taking over as President in autumn 2016, Shavkat Mirziyoyev launched a breathtaking series of reform initiatives. His slogan – “it is high time the government serves the people, not vice versa” – led to large-scale reforms in virtually every sector. Time will tell whether the reform effort will succeed, but its first positive fruits are already visible, particularly in a new dynamism within Uzbek society, as well as a fresh approach to foreign relations, where a new spirit of regionalism is taking root. This book is the first systematic effort to analyze Uzbekistan’s reforms.

How NGOs React

How NGOs React PDF Author: Iveta Silova
Publisher: Kumarian Press
ISBN: 1565492579
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 321

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Book Description
* Critical retrospective on the first decades of the transition from planned to free-market economy in Central Asia * Contributions from both Eastern and Western scholars * Includes both theoretical NGO research and practical examples taken from experience During the important, early years of post-socialist transformation in the Caucasus, Central Asia, and Mongolia, the Open Society Institute/Soros Foundation was arguably the largest and most influential network in the region. How NGOs React follows the Soros Foundation's educational reform programs there and raises larger questions about the role of NGOs in a centralist government, relationships NGOs have with international donors and development banks, and strategies NGOs use to interpret global reforms locally. The authors, all former or current educational experts of the Soros Foundation, analyze the post-socialist reform package at the country-level, highlighting the common features such as decentralization, privatization, vouchers and liberalization of the textbook publishing market. They look at the global reforms and their variations as they were transferred to Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan over the past decade. A unique combination of perspectives from Western as well as Eastern scholars based in the region makes this collection an essential retrospective on key processes involved in transforming educational systems since the collapse of the socialist bloc. Contributors: Tatiana Abdushukurova, Erika Dailey, Valentin Deichman, Natsagdorj Enkhtuya, Alexandr Ivanov, Saule Kalikova, Elmina Kazimzade, Anna Matiashvili and Armenuhi Tadevosyan.

Russia and Central Asia

Russia and Central Asia PDF Author: Shoshana Keller
Publisher: University of Toronto Press
ISBN: 1487594348
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 361

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Book Description
This introduction to Central Asia and its relationship with Russia helps restore Central Asia to the general narrative of Russian and world history.

Religion and Forced Displacement in Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, and Central Asia

Religion and Forced Displacement in Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, and Central Asia PDF Author: Victoria Hudson
Publisher:
ISBN: 9789463727556
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 416

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Book Description
This book examines the social and political mobilisation of religious communities towards forced displacement in Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, and Central Asia. It analyses religious strategies in relation to tolerance and transitory environments as a result of the breakup of the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia in the early 1990s, the post-2011 Syrian crisis and the 2014 Russian takeover of Crimea. How do religious actors and state bodies engage with refugees and migrants? What are the mechanisms of religious support towards forcibly displaced communities? The book argues that when states do not act as providers of human security, religious communities, as representatives of civil society and often closer to the grass roots level, can be well placed to serve populations in need. The book brings together scholars from across the region and provides a comprehensive overview of the ways in which religious communities tackle humanitarian crises in contemporary Armenia, Bulgaria, Greece, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Poland, Russia, Serbia, Ukraine and Uzbekistan.

An Essay on the History of Civil Society

An Essay on the History of Civil Society PDF Author: Adam Ferguson
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Civil society
Languages : en
Pages : 430

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Book Description


Civil Society and Politics in Central Asia

Civil Society and Politics in Central Asia PDF Author: Charles E. Ziegler
Publisher: University Press of Kentucky
ISBN: 0813150795
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 326

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Book Description
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.