Cover Photo: Umarali Kuvatov Photo Credit: TojNews.org Umarali Kuvatov, the leader of Group of 24, was killed last night in Istanbul. The Government of Tajikistan is in the midst of a campaign to track down he and his colleagues and have them extradited. But their attempt to extradite Kuvatov looked to be unsuccessful after his release […]
Cover Photo: Abu Muhammed Tojiki Credit: Odnoklassniki In December 2014, thirteen videos of Tajik jihadists fighting with the Islamic State in Iraq appeared on the Russian social networking site Odnoklassniki (Classmates). These are the first videos made by Tajiks in Iraq to be published online. At least eight different Tajik fighters appear in the […]
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 […]
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 […]
On 29 April, EXCAS member Dr David Lewis spoke at an event called “Shelter from the storm?” hosted by the Foreign Policy Centre (FPC). The event launched a Foreign Policy Centre publication of the same name. The report, edited by Adam Hug, explores the asylum, refuge and extradition situation facing activists from the former Soviet Union […]
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.