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The First Bolashak Seminar

9:00am Opening Remarks.Marlene Laruelle (Central Asia Program, IERES, GWU) 9:15-10:00 Panel 1. Societal transformations in Kazakhstan Serik Beissembayev (Social Found “Centre for Social and Political Studies Strategy”) Symbolic Boundaries of Ethnic Identity as an Issue for Nationbuilding in Kazakhstan Zhaslan Nurbaev (Kazakh University of the Humanities and Law, Astana) Regional Opinions on the Threat of Religious… Continue reading The First Bolashak Seminar

Shrine, State and Sacred Lineage in Modern Kazakhstan

with Ulan Bigozhin, Indiana UniversityMany scholars have argued that shrine veneration and respect for sacred lineages are essential parts of Islam in post-Soviet Central Asia because of their long history in the region; in other words, shrines and sacred lineages are important now because they were important in the past. In contrast Ulan’s research reveals contemporary… Continue reading Shrine, State and Sacred Lineage in Modern Kazakhstan

Religion, Sta​te and Secularism in Eurasia… and Beyond

This seminar will explore state-sponsored secularism in the Eurasian continent, and how the authorities use the concept of the separation of state and religion to consolidate authoritarian policies. It looks at Russia, Central Asia and China, comparing them with the Middle-East. In the name of state secularism, Islamic communities are prohibited from interfering in politics,… Continue reading Religion, Sta​te and Secularism in Eurasia… and Beyond

Syria Calling: Migration, Mobilization and the Transformation of the Central Asian Jihad

with Eileen O’Connor, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs and Noah Tucker, Registan.net Key points: • Perhaps surprisingly, ISIS appears to be weak in its resources for online recruit-ing in Central Asian languages, but benefits disproportionately and in some un-intended ways from this resentment because of the ubiquity of its… Continue reading Syria Calling: Migration, Mobilization and the Transformation of the Central Asian Jihad

Deciphering Eurasianism in Hungary: Narratives, Networks, and Lifestyles

with Umut Korkut, Glasgow Caledonia University Since the outbreak of the global financial crisis, the Hungarian right engaged in a collective soul searching on what formulates Hungarian identity. Dr. Korkut’s paper elaborates on the discourses of the Hungarian conservative and radical right-wing political and intellectual coalitions that Hungarians in terms of their language, culture, and identity… Continue reading Deciphering Eurasianism in Hungary: Narratives, Networks, and Lifestyles

Central Asia and the Eurasian Economic Union: The Global Picture and Country Perspectives

In cooperation with the Harriman Institute and the US-Kazakhstan Business Association Opening Remarks: Marlene Laruelle (IERES, George Washington University) 9:30-11:00am Session I. Roundtable Martha Brill Olcott (Michigan State University) Sarah Freese (US-Kazakhstan Business Association) Alexander Cooley (Barnard College, Columbia University) Alexander Libman (German Institute for International and Security Affairs SWP) 11:30-1:00pm Session II. Kazakhstan's Perspective on the EEU… Continue reading Central Asia and the Eurasian Economic Union: The Global Picture and Country Perspectives

Tracking Factors of Change in Tajikistan

12:30 Light Lunch 12:45-1:30pm Keynote Speaker Eric McGlinchey (George Mason University) Using a Wide Lens to Assess the Narrow Risk of Radical Islam in Tajikistan 1:30-3:30pm Panel I. Tajikistan Today: Security, Economy and Media Chair: Sebastien Peyrouse (CAP, GWU) Muzaffar Olimov (Academy of Sciences of Tajikistan) Afghan factor and the Threat of Islamic Radicalization: fear… Continue reading Tracking Factors of Change in Tajikistan

Soviet Bus Stops

Soviet Bus StopsAn Exhibition by Photographer Christopher Herwig IERES, George Washington University, Suite 412 From March 16 to June 12, 2015 From the shores of the Black Sea to the endless Kazakh steppe, the diverse architecture of Soviet bus stops demonstrates the range of public art from the Soviet era and gives a rare glimpse into… Continue reading Soviet Bus Stops

Negotiating Identity in Kyrgyzstan: Nationality, Islam, and the Meaning of Tradition

with Vincent Artman, University of KansasSince independence, Kyrgyzstan, like the other Central Asian states, has been confronted with the challenge of articulating a viable national identity.Drawing upon five months of fieldwork, this presentation examines some of the ways in which Kyrgyz people make sense of the complex relationship between their religious heritage and their national identity. Vincent M. Artman… Continue reading Negotiating Identity in Kyrgyzstan: Nationality, Islam, and the Meaning of Tradition

Second Turkmen Culture Club

Turkmenistan's rich culture is less well-known than those great empires who contributed to it, but Turkmenistan has produced its own fascinating - though under-appreciated - art, music, literature, and cinema.The Turkmen Culture Club welcomes you to explore and experience the creole of deep, desert-isolated nomadic heritage, the 'Lost Enlightenment' of Islamic Central Asia, and the… Continue reading Second Turkmen Culture Club

The First Uzbekistan Initiative Workshop

Agenda 9:00am. Introductory Remarks, Marlene Laruelle, CAP director 9:15-11:00am Session I Uzbekistan in 2015: Domestic and Foreign Policies Chair: Reuel Hanks (Oklahoma State University) Kamoliddin Rabbimov (LIGLIS-Center, Paris) The Succession Question and the Stability of the Uzbek political system after Islam Karimov’s decision to stay for another term Shermamat Abdullozoda (Independent Consultant) Uzbekistan's economic and… Continue reading The First Uzbekistan Initiative Workshop

Islam and the Dynamics of Ethno-confessional Regimes in Russia, 1990-2012

with Bulat Akhmetkarimov, SAIS, Johns Hopkins UniversityWhy would a secular state change its policies toward religion? Research on secularism and state policies toward religion suggests several models of interaction. However, these models are often better at describing static relationships than they are at explaining change. This study advances a framework for the conditions that presage the… Continue reading Islam and the Dynamics of Ethno-confessional Regimes in Russia, 1990-2012

Religion and Identity in Eurasia

This seminar will explore how religion articulates itself both through localized identities, based on community belonging, ethnic or national references, and with globalized identities (the Ummah, some transnational brotherhoods, proselytizing groups). At both the individual and collective levels, the traditional ways of expressing religion are anchored in local processes and understood as code of social… Continue reading Religion and Identity in Eurasia

Cinema Club Film Screening: Beshkempir

Directed by Aktan Arym Kubat (Kyrgyzstan, 1998)Aktan Abdykalykov made his directorial debut with this semi-autobiographical Kirghizian-French drama set in a rural Kirghizian village where young Adyr plays in the brick mudpits, takes an interest in a girl, and attends outdoor movie showings. However, Adyr's pals reject him when it's learned that he's adopted, and more… Continue reading Cinema Club Film Screening: Beshkempir

Islam, Secularism and Security in Central Asia and Beyond

In partnership with the British Council's Bridging Voices Project 2014/15 The purpose of the dialogue is to undertake a debate about the relationship between Islam and secularism with respect to security in Muslim-majority regions. How do the relations between political Islam and more privatized variants of Islam get negotiated by civil society organizations which may… Continue reading Islam, Secularism and Security in Central Asia and Beyond

Desecularization Post-Soviet Style: Delimitations of New Religious Public Space in Central Asia

with John Schoeberlein, Nazarbayev University Modernization theory has run into some snags regarding religion in Central Asia. The Post-Reformation modernity in Europe brought convictions and institutions aimed at ensuring religious life free of state intervention and withdrawal of religion from public space. Post-Soviet modernity in Central Asia has seen the opposite trend — convictions and institutions premised… Continue reading Desecularization Post-Soviet Style: Delimitations of New Religious Public Space in Central Asia

Islam as a Power Resource: Instrumentalization of Religion in Central Asia

with Mariya Y. Omelicheva, University of KansasHow can Islam play multiple and contradictory roles as a source of violence and peace, and a marker of identity differences and national unity? This presentation will explore an argument that religion, as a system of beliefs, manifests itself through discourses, which serve to convey religious meanings but also project… Continue reading Islam as a Power Resource: Instrumentalization of Religion in Central Asia

History and Memory in Central Asia

Opening Remarks: Marlene Laruelle (CAP, GWU) Presentations Guljanat Kurmangaliyeva Ercilasun (Gazi University) Missing Page in Soviet History: Famines in Kyrgyzstan Ali İğmen (California State University, Long Beach) Listening to Kyrgyz Actresses and their Families: Success or Survival?  Konuralp Ercilasun (Gazi University) The Virgin Lands in Memories Anar Somuncuoglu (Hacettepe University) Politics of History in Russian… Continue reading History and Memory in Central Asia

“My Andijon Remains”: Memory and Forgetting Ten Years after the Andijon Events

Lunch event featuring: Laura Adams, USAID and Harvard University Sarah Kendzior, Al Jazeera and CAP Associate Noah Tucker, Registan.net and CAP Associate Steve Swerdlow, Human Rights Watch The 13 May 2005 Andijon violence has been documented, interpreted and remembered by survivors, by society and by the state in ways that have evolved over the ten years… Continue reading “My Andijon Remains”: Memory and Forgetting Ten Years after the Andijon Events

Turkmenistan: Domestic Evolution, Economic Development, and Regional Environment

9:00am Introductory Remarks Marlene Laruelle (CAP, IERES, GWU) 9:15am Session I. Governance Changes in Turkmenistan Chair: Marlene Laruelle (CAP, IERES, GWU) Myles Smith (IREX) Forget political will - Would good governance even be possible in Turkmenistan? Chris Miller (USAID) Governance Challenges and Opportunities in Turkmenistan Discussion ​​10:45-11:15pm Coffee-break 11:15-12:45pm Session II. Economic Development, Progress and… Continue reading Turkmenistan: Domestic Evolution, Economic Development, and Regional Environment

The Fifth Central Asia Fellowship Seminar

4:00pm Opening Remarks Marlene Laruelle (George Washington University) 4:15pm Farrukh Irnazarov (Uzbekistan) Labor Migrant Households in Uzbekistan: Remittances as a Challenge or Blessing? Discussant:  Seyed Reza Yousefi (Development Prospects Group (DECPG), World Bank) 5:15 Nazik Muradova (Turkmenistan) Revisiting Turkmenistan’s Energy Exports. Path Toward a Greater Diversity of Foreign Partners Discussant: Steve LeVine (Washington Correspondent, Quartz) 6:15 Reception Mr. Farrukh… Continue reading The Fifth Central Asia Fellowship Seminar

STOCKHOLM – Uzbekistan Beyond the ‘Curtain’. Approaches, Fieldworks and Topics

A Conference organized by The George Washington University’s Central Asia Program (CAP), and the Swedish Institute of International AffairsUzbekistan is at the core of Central Asia. It is the region's demographic power with close to 30 million inhabitants, its second-largest economic power behind Kazakhstan thanks to its cotton production and still developed industrial network, and… Continue reading STOCKHOLM – Uzbekistan Beyond the ‘Curtain’. Approaches, Fieldworks and Topics