Develop the West Workshop
Develop the West Workshop Agenda
Documentary Film Screening: “550 Years of the Kazakh Khanate”
with Mr. Andrey Khazbulatov, Director General of the Kazakh Science and Research Institute of Culture under the Ministry of Culture and Sports The documentary, based on a historical opus “Within the Stream of History,” authored by President Nursultan Nazarbayev, is a riveting visual journey through 550 years of history of the Kazakh people. The epic takes… Continue reading Documentary Film Screening: “550 Years of the Kazakh Khanate”
Karakum Leadership Forum
KLF Agenda
Kyrgyzstan-US Relationship: After the Cooperation Treaty, and before the Parliamentary Elections
Kyrgyzstan's decision to cancel a cooperation treaty with the United States after tensions over the US awarding a human rights prize to jailed dissident, Azimjon Askarov, contributed to deteriorating US-Kyrgyz bilateral relations. Although the strategic value of Kyrgyzstan for the US diminished with the closure of the Manas transit center and Bishkek's joining the Eurasian Economic… Continue reading Kyrgyzstan-US Relationship: After the Cooperation Treaty, and before the Parliamentary Elections
Kazakhstan’s Accession to the WTO, Central Asia and the Eurasian Economic Union
In July 2015, Kazakhstan finalized its accession to the World Trade Organization after 19 years of negotiations, and intends to ratify the accession package by the end of October. With this, Kazakhstan will become the third—but the main—country of Central Asia to enter the WTO. How will this new membership impact the Kazakhstani economy? How… Continue reading Kazakhstan’s Accession to the WTO, Central Asia and the Eurasian Economic Union
The Magic of Uzbek Cinema
A Film Festival in partnership with the Embassy of Uzbekistan Featuring film directors Shukhrat Abbasov and Ayub Shahobiddinov You Are Not An Orphan By Shukhrat Abbasov, 1963 September 22, 2015 6:30-9:30pm 800 21st St NW, Marvin Center Amphitheater Reception to follow Shukhrat Abbasov in person Heaven, My Abode By Ayub Shahobiddinov, 2012 September 23, 2015… Continue reading The Magic of Uzbek Cinema
LEIDEN – Development and Modernization in the Soviet Periphery
Since their incorporation into the Russian Empire in the 19th century, Central Asia and the Caucasus have been the target of various schemes for economic and social improvement. Whether dealing with water management, transportation, education, or medicine and hygiene, the region became a frontier where Russian reformers could try out schemes they were often unable to carry out close to… Continue reading LEIDEN – Development and Modernization in the Soviet Periphery
Turkmenistan Today: Regional Security and Domestic Outlook
Muhammad Tahir, Director of Turkmen Service at Radio Free Europe/ Radio Liberty Since early 2015, Taliban militants have significantly increased their activities in northern Afghanistan, taking control of most of the villages along the borders with Turkmenistan and Tajikistan. Already having conducted two cross border raids into Turkmenistan, so far six Turkmen border guards have fallen… Continue reading Turkmenistan Today: Regional Security and Domestic Outlook
‘Old Patterns, New Order. Socialist Realism in Central Asia’ – GW Museum, October 10, 2015 – May 29, 2016
Old Patterns, New Order: Socialist Realism in Central AsiaOctober 10, 2015–May 29, 2016 Under Soviet political rule, artists across Central Asia created images that both embraced modernity and idealized the past. This exhibition will examine the socialist realist art movement in Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and others areas of Central Asia, pairing twentieth-century paintings with examples of… Continue reading ‘Old Patterns, New Order. Socialist Realism in Central Asia’ – GW Museum, October 10, 2015 – May 29, 2016
CESS Annual Meeting 2015
CAP is proud to host the Central Eurasian Studies Society 16th Annual Conference, October 15-18, 2015Download the full program here.View the keynote addresses “Locating Central Asian Geopolitics: the Rise and Future Decline of Multivectorism in Practice” by Alexander Cooley, Director, Harriman Institute, Columbia University “Trace, Trajectory, Pressure Point: Re-imagining ‘Area Studies’ in an Age of… Continue reading CESS Annual Meeting 2015
Private Life in Public Spaces: Discourse, Ummah, and (Muslim) Piety in Tatarstan
In this new project, Dr. Karimova explores the relationship between public and private space, discourse, Muslim piety, and the notion of Ummah in present-day Tatarstan. She illustrates how physical space produces a variety of discourses that both reflect and shape the local Ummah in multiple, sometimes unexpected, ways. In one such instance, a newly built… Continue reading Private Life in Public Spaces: Discourse, Ummah, and (Muslim) Piety in Tatarstan
Beyond Crimea: Russian Compatriot and Reimperialization Policies in Central Asia
Based on the research of her forthcoming book Beyond Crimea: The New Russian Empire (Yale University Press, February 2015), Dr. Grigas will discuss Moscow’s policies towards the Russian minorities and Russian speakers in the Central Asia and how they relate to Russia’s broader foreign policy aims to regain influence and possibly territories in the five countries of… Continue reading Beyond Crimea: Russian Compatriot and Reimperialization Policies in Central Asia
Cinema Club in Partnership with the Kyrgyz Embassy: “Kurmanjan Datka, Queen of the Mountains” (Kyrgyzstan, 2014)
"Commemorating a rare female leader from a time and place where women were mostly regarded as chattel, the sweeping patriotic epic “Kurmanjan Datka Queen of the Mountains” spans the long life (1811-1907) of a heroine who put the personal good of her people before her private hopes. With its breathtaking landscapes, dazzling cinematography, bloody battles and unique cultural… Continue reading Cinema Club in Partnership with the Kyrgyz Embassy: “Kurmanjan Datka, Queen of the Mountains” (Kyrgyzstan, 2014)
Political and Economic Trends in Kazakhstan: Risks, Threats, and Prospects
For several years, the Kazakhstani state has been actively expanding its participation in different spheres of public life, and concentrating resources in the financial, political, and media sectors. Several so-called umbrella structures work together in a corporatist logic inside the state structure. This highly centralized political system is strongly personified and has effectively created stability for the elite. Well… Continue reading Political and Economic Trends in Kazakhstan: Risks, Threats, and Prospects
BRUSSELS and PARIS – Second International Conference on Uyghur Studies
The 2015 Second International Conference on Uyghur Studies will take place in Brussels and Paris from November 17-20, 2015. At the conference there will be several cultural events and exhibits organized for the participants. This event promises to provide stimulating conversation on many pressing topics in the region. View the program here.
Discussion with Rabbi Yeshaya Cohen, Chief Rabbi of the Republic of Kazakhstan
Rabbi Yeshaya Cohen was born in 1971 in Jerusalem, Israel. In 1993, he became assistant to the rabbi of the Grand Choral synagogue in St. Petersburg, Russia, and since 1994 he has been the Chief Rabbi of the Republic of Kazakhstan and Chief Emissary of the Lubavitcher Rebbe to Kazakhstan. Rabbi Yeshaya Cohen is a member of the National Council… Continue reading Discussion with Rabbi Yeshaya Cohen, Chief Rabbi of the Republic of Kazakhstan
Cinema Club: “The Liquidator” (Kazakhstan 2011)
"Ex-Special Forces officer Arsen sets out to avenge his brother's murder and uncovers a massive conspiracy involving the wealthy and powerful elite as he works his way up through the ranks, eliminating everyone responsible. Subsequently recruited by a clandestine organization of vigilantes, Arsen continues his bloody quest for revenge until his top targets hire a… Continue reading Cinema Club: “The Liquidator” (Kazakhstan 2011)
Women and Water in Central Asia and South Asia: Building a Sustainable Future
Funded by the US State Department for 2013-2015, this project connected women in Central and South Asia to water and its management, and proposed a program of international exchange of knowledge and leadership to support innovative conflict resolution with a sustainable and multiplying effect. To this end, it brought together young female social entrepreneurs and… Continue reading Women and Water in Central Asia and South Asia: Building a Sustainable Future
GLASGOW – Inside the Pyramid: Is Central Asia authoritarianism stable?
A Workshop Series organized byCRCEES & CAP View the full program here. Patrimonial, patronal, clientelistic: Central Asia’s authoritarian power is often classified in these terms. The proliferation of analytical rubrics and conceptual lenses to delve into regional developments confirms that, if anything, Central Asian politics is profoundly complex. The regional conformation of power does however… Continue reading GLASGOW – Inside the Pyramid: Is Central Asia authoritarianism stable?
Studying Social Marginalization in Central Asia: Sixth Central Asia Fellows’ Seminar
Opening Remarks, Marlene Laruelle (Central Asia Program, IERES, GWU) Aspects of Social Marginalization in Central Asia. Some Introductory Data Serik Bessembayev (Kazakhstan) Violent Extremism in Kazakhstan: The Fertile Soil of Gang Culture Malika Tukmadieva (Kazakhstan) The Registration System (propiska) as a Tool for Discrimination Xeniya Mironova (Tajikistan) The Dysfunctionalities of the Housing Market in Dushanbe… Continue reading Studying Social Marginalization in Central Asia: Sixth Central Asia Fellows’ Seminar
Kazakhstan Nationbuilding and Kazakh Nationalism: A Debate
A new social activism has emerged in Kazakhstan, organized by different small groups self-defining as Kazakh nationalists. Who are they? What is their audience? What political and national projects do they advance? How do they position themselves toward the current authorities, the relationship to Russia, to the Islamic world, and to their Central Asian neighbors?… Continue reading Kazakhstan Nationbuilding and Kazakh Nationalism: A Debate
Cinema Club Film Screening: Kyrgyzland
By Elunura Osmonalieva (2014) This movie is about a small mountainous country with big problems and huge potential. Young heroes let viewers into their lives, lifting a curtain into multi-layered and contradictory life in Kyrgyzstan. These seven stories of love, decisiveness, courage, and virtue leave you feeling that you have made new friends and shared… Continue reading Cinema Club Film Screening: Kyrgyzland
Religion-Branding? Central Asia’s Integration into the International Scene through Religion
10:00am-12:00pm. Session 1. Central Asian States and the Gulf Countries. In Search of New Models of Development Luca Anceschi (Glasgow University, UK), Natalie Koch (Syracuse University), Bruno de Cordier (Gent University, Belgium), Sebastien Peyrouse (George Washington University) 12:45-2:15pm. Session 2. Internationalizing Trends in Central Asia's Islam: Copying, Borrowing, Adapting Alima Bissenova (Nazarbayev University, Kazakhstan), Ashirbek… Continue reading Religion-Branding? Central Asia’s Integration into the International Scene through Religion
Public and State Responses to ISIS Messaging in Central Asia
This workshop and policy discussion will mark the launch of a new series of policy papers from the CERIA initiative that examine state and public responses to ISIS and its recruiting efforts in each of the Central Asian states, including Turkmenistan. Comparing and contrasting the perhaps surprisingly different strategies used by ISIS members recruited from… Continue reading Public and State Responses to ISIS Messaging in Central Asia
