Editor’s introduction by John Heathershaw Turkmenistan is the least-well studied and perhaps most-poorly understood of the Central Asian republics. We have not previously published features on Turkmenistan on this site and rarely does it feature in the research of our group. However, Turkmenistan has been enduring a financial and economic crisis for many years and deserves […]
An odd story is emerging from Tajikistan with regard to the infamous aluminium company (Talco) and its offshore dealings. On 25 October, the country’s Ministry of Finance reported that $1.1Bn (equivalent to more than 14% of the value of country’s GDP [$8.5 Billion in 2013]) has been lost in the period from 2010 until to […]
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 […]
By Catherine Owen In the last four years, I have twice had the privilege of travelling by train from Bishkek to Moscow. The journey is a three-day passage from the capital of Kyrgyzstan across the length of Kazakhstan, entering Russia through Orenburg oblast in the south. The open-plan dormitory-style platzkart carriage provides abundant opportunities for […]
This is a re-post. The original article can be found here. Not every despotic and corrupt ruler of a former Soviet state is the target of US Government plots to overthrow him, not even those whose taste in interior decoration and jewellery is as awful as Victor Yanukovich’s, the ex-president of Ukraine. Emomali Rahmon (image), […]
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.
Corruption in Central Asia: Can the extractive industries’ transparency initiative help? Friday 2 May, 11am-1pm, Queen’s Building LT7,1+2 Tom Mayne, Global Witness http://new.globalwitness.org/20yearsimpact.php About Global Witness: Global Witness investigates and campaigns to change the system by exposing the economic networks behind conflict, corruption and environmental destruction. In 2011 the value of exports of fuels and minerals […]
The Khan Shatyr shopping centre in Astana; Dushanbe’s “world’s largest” flagpole; yet another new apartment building in Bishkek By John Heathershaw On my most recent trip to Central Asia I had quite a different travelling experience than in previous times. I don’t enjoy moving on all the time. Normally I go to one place and try and […]
Date & time: April 2, 9am-1pm, Venue: 1501 International Affairs Building, Harriman Institute, Columbia University Description: For the first two decades of independence, most academics and policy analysts have viewed Central Asia as detached from the global economy and the diffusion of globalization trends. This is most evident in the US State Department’s recent vision […]