Wednesday, March 26, 2025
11:00 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. (EST)
Since Turkmenistan gained independence, the Turkmen government has consistently promoted the narrative that it has been actively strengthening the country’s social contract by investing in public welfare and development. Official discourse emphasizes state-led initiatives aimed at improving living standards, economic stability, and social services. However, this claim has been continuously challenged by evidence of chronic underinvestment in key sectors such as education and healthcare, rising inequalities in human development, and severe restrictions on fundamental rights, including freedom of expression and political participation.
This event will examine the state of Turkmenistan’s social contract, critically assessing the gap between government rhetoric and the lived reality of its citizens. Panelists will explore the structural challenges facing the country’s social policies, the impact of economic constraints on social welfare, and the broader implications for governance and stability. Additionally, the discussion will address the role of the international community in engaging with Turkmenistan, weighing the opportunities and limitations of external influence in promoting meaningful social development improvements.
Speakers:
Aynabat Yaylymova is Founder and Executive Director of Progres Foundation. Progres Foundation works to support various progressive, educational initiatives that benefit the public in Turkmenistan. Saglyk.org has been working to improve public health literacy in Turkmenistan over the last 15 years, including becoming a leading source of covid-19 information in the Turkmen language. Progres.online is an electronic analytical journal that promotes better, nuanced understanding of the societal trends in Turkmenistan by providing quality research and policy analysis.
Oguljamal Yazliyeva holds a Ph.D. in International Area Studies from Charles University in Prague. She specializes in Central Asian studies, with a focus on Turkmenistan, mass media, education policy, languages, and translation. Dr. Yazliyeva has extensive experience in the media field, having served as Director of Turkmen Service at the US government-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) in Prague, Czech Republic. She has held teaching and administrative positions at Turkmen State University and the Academy of Sciences of Turkmenistan. She completed a graduate study and professional development program in Leadership and Management (Educational Planning) at Penn State University as a Hubert Humphrey Fellow.Rustam Mukhamedov is currently a Kroc Institute Fellow pursuing a Master of Global Affairs degree with a major in International Peace Studies at the Kroc Institute of the University of Notre Dame. Most recently, he worked as a policy researcher and analyst, contributing writer, and digital rights expert covering the intersection of technology, human security, human rights, democratization, civic activism, and good governance in Turkmenistan and Central Asia. He is also a former nonresident fellow at the Open Internet for Democracy Initiative (Open Internet Leaders program), at the Eurasia Lab Fellowship Program of the Institute of European Politics in Berlin, and at the Central Asia-Azerbaijan Fellowship Program of The George Washington University. He holds an MA in politics and security from the OSCE Academy in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
Sebastien Peyrouse is Director of the Central Asia Program and Research Professor, IERES, The George Washington University. His main areas of expertise are political systems in Central Asia, economic and social issues, Islam and religious minorities, and Central Asia’s geopolitical positioning toward China, India, and South Asia.
Ogulgerek Palwanowa is a researcher at Progres Foundation. She writes on socio-economic development in Turkmenistan, with a particular focus on human development. She has been conducting analytical research and writing for nearly a decade. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and a Master’s degree in Public Policy, and she has studied in the USA and Europe.
Moderator:
Sean R. Roberts is an Associate Professor in the Practice of International Affairs and Director of the International Development Studies (IDS) MA program at The George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs. He has written extensively on the Uyghur people of China and Central Asia, and his 2020 book, The War on the Uyghurs (Princeton University Press), was recognized by the journal Foreign Affairs as one of their “Best of Books” for 2021. He is frequently consulted by development organizations on issues related to governance, democratization, human rights, and the rights of ethnic minorities and indigenous peoples, and he comments on current events in the media related both to the situation of the Uyghur people in China and to political developments in Central Asia.
