Events Archive
Events
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Turkish Religious Movements in the Caucasus and Central Asia
with, Bayram Balci, Visiting Fellow, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace In the 1990s-2000s, different Islamic movements had the opportunity to develop and spread their ideas throughout the former Soviet Union. They contributed drastically to the religiousrevival in both Caucasus and Central Asia. Among them, those coming from Turkey were more influential, especially the Nurcu movement of Fethullah Gülen, which… Continue reading Turkish Religious Movements in the Caucasus and Central Asia
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Uyghur Neighborhoods in Kazakhstan
with Sean Roberts, Associate Professor and Director, International Development Studies Program, GWUWith the fall of the Soviet Union, the Uyghurs of Kazakhstan, like many others in the former USSR, began to resurrect and re-invent traditional cultural practices that had been repressed during the Soviet period as either contrary to socialist atheism or as remnants of a “feudal past.” These traditions… Continue reading Uyghur Neighborhoods in Kazakhstan
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Afghanistan’s Stability and Regional Security Implications for Central Asia
A conference organized by the Central Asia Program (George Washington University), and EUCAM (Europe-Central Asia Monitoring),with the support of the NATO Science for Peace and Security Program. Afghanistan's Stability and Regional Security Implications for Central Asia
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Informal Justice in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan
with Azita Ranjbar and Dr. Eric McGlinchey What role does informal justice play in resolving conflict in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan? Is there an inverse relationship between the use of informal justice mechanisms and properly functioning state institutions? In Kyrgyzstan, aksakal courts (courts of elders) are village-level institutions responsible for resolving community-level disputes, although they are increasingly described as largely obsolete… Continue reading Informal Justice in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan
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USAID Experience with Legislative Strengthening in the Former Soviet Union
With Dr. Eric Rudenshiold, Senior Officer in Charge of Kyrgyzstan and the Central Asian Republics at USAID Kregg Halstead, Chief of Party of USAIDs "Kyrgyzstan Parliamentary Strengthening Program" being implemented by DAI Moderated by Dr. Sean Roberts, Director and Associate Professor, International Development Studies Program, The Elliott School of International Affairs, The George Washington University In the two decades since… Continue reading USAID Experience with Legislative Strengthening in the Former Soviet Union
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Border Security Assistance in Central Asia: Implications for Post-2014 Afghanistan
with George Gavrilis, Executive Director,The Hollings Center for International Dialogue A discussion of Central Asia’s Border Woes & the Impact of International Assistance Occasional Paper Series, Central Eurasia Project, Open Society Foundations Please join us for a discussion on border security assistance in Central Asia and its implications for the 2014 U.S. and NATO drawdown in Afghanistan. Over the… Continue reading Border Security Assistance in Central Asia: Implications for Post-2014 Afghanistan
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Iranian Religious Presence in the Republic of Azerbaijan: Roots, Forms and Security Implications
with Fuad Aliyev Fulbright Scholar at the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute, School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University Iranian religious influence in Azerbaijan has recently become a ‘hot’ topic. However, there is little insiderknowledge, or data-based analysis of the situation on the ground. Is Iran indeed capable of usingreligious activists as its fifth column in the Republic… Continue reading Iranian Religious Presence in the Republic of Azerbaijan: Roots, Forms and Security Implications
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Kyrgyzstan in Its Regional Context
with Asylbek Jeenbekov, Speaker of the Supreme Council of Kyrgyzstan, The Jogorku Kengesh The George Washington University’s International Development Studies Program and Central AsiaProgram are proud to host Asylbek Jeenbekov, Speaker of the Kyrgyz Parliament, to discuss security and development issues in Kyrgyzstan and in the Central Asian region.
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Debating “Patronal Politics in Central Asia:” A Demokratizatsiya Special Issue
withSlovomir Horak, Charles University Marlène Laruelle, IERES Erica Marat, American University Lawrence Markowitz, Rowan University and Sébastien Peyrouse, IERES The Fall 2012 issue of IERES’ Demokratizatsiya: The Journal of Post-Soviet Democratization examines the role of patronal politics in Central Asia. An introductory essay about the concepts of neopatrimonialism and patronal presidentialism lays out the theoretical background for the issue.Five country-study… Continue reading Debating “Patronal Politics in Central Asia:” A Demokratizatsiya Special Issue
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Is there a place for Uzbeks in the Kyrgyz Republic? Lessons from Under Solomon’s Throne: Uzbek Visions of Societal Renewal in Osh
Co-Sponsored by the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholarswith Morgan Y. Liu, Associate Professor of Anthropology, The Ohio State University Ethnic Uzbeks in the Kyrgyz Republic (Kyrgyzstan) attempted to create a place for themselves in the Kyrgyz-dominated nation-state since its independence in 1991. For a while, there were reasons to be optimistic about this minority community. Even though… Continue reading Is there a place for Uzbeks in the Kyrgyz Republic? Lessons from Under Solomon’s Throne: Uzbek Visions of Societal Renewal in Osh
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Discovering Azerbaijani Musical Traditions
with Jeffery Werbock, Chairman of the Mugham Society of AmericaJeffrey Werbock will present a program of instrumental solo improvisations based on traditional Azerbaijani mugham, played on oud - fretless wood face short neck lute; tar fretted skin face long neck lute; and kamancha- skin face spike fiddle.Mr. Werbock has been giving presentations for over three decades and has performed often… Continue reading Discovering Azerbaijani Musical Traditions
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Islam and Politics in Tajikistan: An Insider’s View
with Muhiddin Kabiri, Chairman of the Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan Muhiddin Kabiri, Chairman of the Islamic Renaissance Party of Tajikistan, will discuss the current situation in Tajikistan including the preparation for the presidential elections in 2013, the new restrictive laws on religion, the difficulties faced by the Islamic Renaissance Party, and the tensions in the Gorno-Badakhshan region since last… Continue reading Islam and Politics in Tajikistan: An Insider’s View
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Game Over? Shifting Energy Geopolitics in Central Asia
with Michael Denison, Research Director, Control Risks Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Central Asia’s geopolitical salience, from inside and outside the region, has been predicated both on its oil and gas export potential and its proximity to several volatile security complexes. However, rapidly changing patterns of global supply and demand, allied to shifting perceptions of political risk, are altering… Continue reading Game Over? Shifting Energy Geopolitics in Central Asia
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Merging Eurasian Insights with the Study of Afghanistan
THE EURASIA PROGRAM of the Social Science Research Council (SSRC) and the Central Asia Program at the Institute for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies atGeorge Washington University are pleased to announce a field development workshop, to be held on the GWU campus November 1-4, 2012. ELIGIBILITY Applicants must be US citizens or permanent residents and currently either within five… Continue reading Merging Eurasian Insights with the Study of Afghanistan
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Extractive Politics, Trust Deficit & Uncertainty in Afghanistan and Central Asia
with Nazif Shahrani, Professor, Indiana University-Bloomington In the framework of the SSRC Eurasian Program's Workshop "Crossing Boundaries: Merging Eurasian Insights with the Study of Afghanistan" the Central Asia Program is proud to host Nazif Sharhani, Professor of Central Eurasian Studies and Anthropology at Indiana University-Bloomington. In his presentation Professor Sharhani will discuss the following key questions: What are… Continue reading Extractive Politics, Trust Deficit & Uncertainty in Afghanistan and Central Asia
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Nomadic Life Styles and Narratives in Kazakhstan: Then and Now
A workshop held in conjunction with the exhibition "Nomads and Networks: The Ancient Art and Culture of Kazakhstan" currently at the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery in the Smithsonian Institution until December 2, 2012.Nomadism has been a key aspect of culture in the Eurasian space, especially on the Kazakh steppes, throughout the centuries. The Russian colonization and the Soviet… Continue reading Nomadic Life Styles and Narratives in Kazakhstan: Then and Now
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Central Asia’s Struggle with Religion
with Catherine Cosman, Senior Policy Analyst- U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom Central Asian governments use state-controlled Islam to build national identity, but also fear Islam's influence and understand that Islam has greater mobilization potential than any other institution in their societies. In the early 1990's, there was fairly free access to various religious influences and the popularity… Continue reading Central Asia’s Struggle with Religion
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Kyrgyzstan Beyond ‘Democracy Island’ and ‘Failing State’: Factoring Social and Political Changes in a Post-Soviet Society
An international conference organized by the Central Asia Program and the Uppsala Center for Russian Studies. Kyrgyzstan Beyond 'Democracy Island' and 'Failing State': Factoring Social and Political Changes in a Post-Soviet Society
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Diversification of an Energy-Producing Economy Agricultural Policy in Kazakhstan
with Richard Pomfret, Professor of Economics, University of Adelaide, AustraliaKazakhstan has used energy revenues to save for the future, invest in human capital, and diversify the structure of production with the goal of becoming one of the "fifty most competitive, dynamically developing countries in the world". Agriculture has been a key part of the diversification strategy ever since the government… Continue reading Diversification of an Energy-Producing Economy Agricultural Policy in Kazakhstan
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European and U.S. policies in Central Asia: Will transatlantic cooperation work in Central Asia towards and beyond 2014?
The seminar aims to bring together experts and policy-makers from both sides of the Atlantic to discuss the connecting points and divergences of policies of the European Union and the U.S. in Central Asia. Both have similar – though not identical – interests and objectives inCentral Asia but their policy-approaches differ substantially. What can be done in… Continue reading European and U.S. policies in Central Asia: Will transatlantic cooperation work in Central Asia towards and beyond 2014?
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Understanding Conflict and Ethnic Violence in Kyrgyzstan
with Neil Melvin, Director of Program Armed Conflict and Conflict Management, SIPRIOver the last two decades, Kyrgyzstan has experienced two major outbreaks of violence involving the main ethnic communities in the country: the Kyrgyz and the Uzbeks. These violent incidentshave generally been viewed as ethnic conflicts and much of the response to the violence from thegovernment, local communities,… Continue reading Understanding Conflict and Ethnic Violence in Kyrgyzstan
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The Central Asia Security Workshop
NATO members are exiting from Afghanistan at different speeds, dictated by pressures from their domestic public opinions. This withdrawal has re-launched debates on the security of the Central Asian region. In the years to come, the post-2014 changes in the regional landscape will intersect with domestic evolutions including changes in political leadership, in demographics, and the end of… Continue reading The Central Asia Security Workshop
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Book Launch: Globalizing Central Asia-Geopolitics and Challenges of Economic Development
Part of IERES’s Book Launch Series Marlene Laruelle, Research Professor of International Affairs, GWU Sebastien Peyrouse, Research Professor of International Affairs, GWU and Discussant: Johannes Linn Former World Bank Vice President for Europe and Central Asia Central Asia, as it emerges from a political and economic system that was closed until the end of the twentieth century, is a… Continue reading Book Launch: Globalizing Central Asia-Geopolitics and Challenges of Economic Development
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American and European Policies in Central Asia: Similarities and Divergence
Panel 1: Debating Similarities and Divergences in European and American Policies Toward Central Asia (3:15-4:45)Jos Boonstra, Senior Researcher, Head of EUCAM programme, FRIDE, Brussels Alexander Cooley, Tow Professor, Barnard College, New York Jeff Goldstein, Senior policy analyst for Eurasia, Open Society Foundations Sebastien Peyrouse, Research Professor, Central Asia Program, GWU Panel 2: European and American Policy Priorities in Central Asia(5:00-6:30) Patricia Flor, EU… Continue reading American and European Policies in Central Asia: Similarities and Divergence
