In February 2016, the Amsterdam-based telecoms company Vimpelcom paid almost US$800 million in fines to settle charges of paying bribes to operate in Uzbekistan. The case came on top of several other investigations, and highlights the elaborate system of corruption and bribery that undermines business, governance, and the economy in this Central Asian state. Tackling […]
Guest post by Philipp Lottholz and Joshua Meyer With the summer season and field trips to Kyrgyzstan and other Central Asian countries approaching, many will find themselves busy preparing their trips, getting their ethical approval, and figuring out how they are going to collect the data they are hoping for. Strategies for approaching interlocutors and […]
This post originally appeared on FT.com’s Beyond Brics: http://blogs.ft.com/beyond-brics/2015/09/29/us-looks-away-as-tyranny-steals-a-march-in-central-asia/ Photocredit: David Trilling, Eurasianet.org Central Asian democracy was dealt another critical blow this month, in open defiance of Western efforts and engagement. It is clear that the United States and Western powers have abandoned political engagement in Central Asia in the face of a resurgent Russia […]
What does the Hoji Halim rebellion tell us about conflict management and the state in Central Asia? By John Heathershaw Photocredit: RFE/RL For three years, Nick Megoran, David Lewis, our partners at Saferworld, and I have been studying the management of minor armed conflicts in Central Asia under a project funded by the UK Economic […]
Cover Photo:Group 24 leader Umarali Quvvatov Credit: Rutube.ru These are purportedly exceptional times in Tajikistan. Dushanbe remains in the grip of paranoia and insecurity. Meanwhile the Tajik people cannot access dozens of websites. These measures- according to the government- are for their own safety and security of the public. For German political thinker Carl […]
By Catherine Owen. This is a re-post of an article first published by the Foreign Policy Centre, where Catherine is a Research Associate. On 2 July 2014, the Russian State Duma passed the highly controversial draft law ‘On the Foundations of Public Oversight in the Russian Federation’ at its second reading. This law defines the basis on which […]
US airbase, Manas, Kyrgyzstan The original version of this article can be found in Perspectives on Central Asia, a quarterly interdisciplinary journal published by Eurasian Dialogue. Rather than existing exclusively in the domestic politics of weak states, corruption in the developing world involves a myriad of different actors, ranging from corrupt state officials and local […]
Central Asian dictators close down the space for domestic political opposition. But politics is still present, only it has moved offshore. See http://www.opendemocracy.net: John Heathershaw & Alexander Cooley, Dictators Without Borders.
The Soviet Union may be dead, but Marx retains his grip on Tajik academia. His thinking still pervades the teaching of history in some universities in the country. In September 2013 I had the privilege to spend the day at the newly established Garm State University in the Rasht Valley. Originally established as a regional […]
The choice of Oinhol Bobonazarova, a lawyer and long-standing human rights campaigner, as the principal candidate of the opposition in the Tajik presidential elections is worthy of some reflection. Often female candidacies for the ultimate office are said to be symbolically important – a great example to the younger members of the under-represented half of […]
On November 6th there will be a presidential poll in Tajikistan. When any election campaign in Central Asia begins it is worth asking the ‘so what?’ question. Democratic elections are primarily about the making of a popular choice and the articulation of societal demands to governments. ‘Brezhnev elections’ (late-Soviet Union polls of multiple candidates but […]
The re-election of President Rahmon, who has now been at the helm of government in Tajikistan for 21 years, to serve another seven-year term was nothing if not expected. Such non-competitive elections are one of the biggest indicators of the purported failure of liberalization across Central Asia, with the partial exception of Kyrgyzstan, since the […]