Kyrgyzstan’s struggle for freedom of expression
In Central Asia, Kyrgyzstan has long been considered as the ‘island of democracy’. In fact it’s the only country in […]
Archive: Articles and pages marked “Review”
Articles providing analysis on Central Asia
The Skripal attack and the post-Soviet practice of extraterritorial security
by John Heathershaw and David Lewis
Traditional methods of national security fail to address “extraterritorial security” and the context of global authoritarianism and kleptocracy in which […]
Uzbekistan Makes Up With Tajikistan Over Electricity
By Paolo Sorbello
For over two decades, the Uzbek-Tajik relationship has been marred by tension, but a recent bilateral visit may mark a […]
Tajikistan’s Repression Beyond Borders: the case of Namunjon Sharipov
By Ayesha Kenan, Nathan Sutton and Saipira Furstenberg
On the 20th of February, Namunjon Sharipov, a senior leader of the Islamic Revival Party of Tajikistan (IRPT) was forcefully […]
Academic freedom in Tajikistan: critical engagement and solidarity
By John Heathershaw and Ed Schatz
If academic solidarity and forms of critical engagement with Tajikistan are going to emerge, we must first recognise the primary […]
Russia’s shift south
By David Lewis
As relations with the West soured during Russian President Vladimir Putin’s third term, Russia launched a ‘pivot to the East’, […]
Transnational Kleptocracy: The Struggle to Expose Kleptocracy’s Enablers
By Alexander Cooley, John Heathershaw, and Jason C Sharman
One of the key features of contemporary transnational kleptocracy is how routine and commonplace it has become. Unlike their […]
Academic Freedom in Tajikistan Endangered: What is to be Done?
Academic freedom is imperiled in Tajikistan, and determined action by the international academic community is needed to encourage Tajik authorities […]
Academic Freedom in Tajikistan: a testimony
Introduction by John Heathershaw Limitations on academic freedom occur throughout Central Asia and across much of the world. However, in some […]
Tajikistan: the use of international system to target dissidents abroad
By Saipira Furstenberg and Elizabeth Talbott
In early October of this year, after attending an OSCE human rights meeting in Warsaw, Poland, Mirzorakhim Kuzov, a senior […]
Why Russia is back in Afghanistan
Three decades after a humiliating military defeat in Afghanistan, Russia has returned to the scene. This adds Afghanistan to a […]
Has Uzbekistan’s repressive government helped radicalise its emigrants and exiles?
The Halloween terrorist attack in New York by Sayfullo Saipov has ignited a debate in social media between scholars of Central […]