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China is expanding its security footprint in Central Asia through strategic military bases located in the remote eastern corner of Tajikistan. A recent report by RFE/RL shed new light on the base populated by Chinese security personnel and a separate military base that the Tajik government has recently allowed Beijing to finance. It's Beijing's first… Continue reading What Next In China’s Growing Security Footprint In Tajikistan?

Four new handbooks on Central Asia appeared in rapid succession by late 2021 or are coming soon in 2022:  In this panel hosted by GWU, Four of the editors sit together and present the rationale behind each book project, the challenges they faced when framing the region (Central Asia or Central Eurasia), selecting topics and… Continue reading Editors on Central Asia: New Handbooks for a Maturing Field

Join us for a special event co-sponsored with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies, the Oxus Society for Central Asian Affairs, and RFE/RL. The riots that erupted on January 5, 2021 in Almaty and then spread to Kazakhstan’s other cities have taken the government by surprise, but signals… Continue reading What is Happening in Kazakhstan?

It's been over a week since the massive protests that took the lives of at least 225 people. How can we begin to understand the diversity of reasons for the public dissent that emerged from various regions of the country? What should we think of the official narrative concerning Islamist involvement? What will be the government's next… Continue reading Kazakhstan: What Next? Understanding the Protests and the Post-Protest Political Context

with the author Zenel Garcia The Central Asia Program invites you to an online event based on Zenel Garcia's recent book China's Western Frontier and Eurasia. With the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a project that aims to integrate China’s frontier spaces more effectively to its center while simultaneously opening them to Eurasian markets and supply chains, Central… Continue reading Central Asia as a Pivot in China’s BRI

Join us for an online event co-sponsored with the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies and the Oxus Society for Central Asian Affairs Kazakhstan has been shaken by a rapidly unfolding series of dramatic and tragic events since protests began in early January. While it is still not clear what happened and who is… Continue reading Kazakhstan after “Bloody January:” Dreams and Pains of Renewal

The Central Asia Program invites you to an online discussion about the implications of the March 12 snap presidential elections in Turkmenistan, which are expected to see power pass from President Gurbangully Berdymukhamedow, who has ruled since 2006, to his son Serdar Berdymukhamedow. Former U.S. Ambassadors to Turkmenistan Laura Kennedy and Allan Mustard, the executive director… Continue reading Dynastic Succession in Turkmenistan: Will it Make Any Difference?

Although a number of previous studies have investigated violent extremism in Central Asia, rigorous research concerning the international efforts in preventing this phenomenon in the region is still limited. The research sheds light on the EU’s engagement in preventing violent extremism (PVE) through the involvement of civil society organizations (CSOs) in Kyrgyzstan.The research offers insights… Continue reading EU Efforts to Prevent Violent Extremism (PVE) by Engaging Civil Society in Kyrgyzstan: Evidence from the Ground

Launch of Uzbek-language edition of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom's Report on Religious Prisoners The Central Asia Program (CAP) invites you to a timely discussion with leading officials and experts on the state of religious freedom in Uzbekistan and the publication in the Uzbek language of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom… Continue reading What is the Current State of Religious Freedom in Uzbekistan?

How are Central Asian countries impacted by the war in Ukraine? What is the future of the Eurasian Economic Union? How can Central Asian countries avoid being the collateral victims of the Western sanctions against Russia? After the January riots in Kazakhstan, what is the room of maneuver for President Tokayev’s “new course”?The two hour… Continue reading Risks and Opportunities for Central Asia in a New Geopolitical Context

For Kazakhstan, the year started with the unprecedented January riots, a stress test for the country and the government. President Tokayev announced significant political reforms and the decision to accelerate systemic transformations. However, in light of the sweeping geopolitical changes in Eurasia related to Russia's war in Ukraine, it remains to be seen whether Kazakhstan's… Continue reading Kazakhstan’s Political Reforms Amidst Geopolitical Shifts

What is the mobilizing and meaning-making potential of information and communication technologies (ICT s) in non-democratic regimes? This question has been studied globally, with the Arab Spring heightening the urgency and the stakes for social science theories of digital mobilization. In the semi-authoritarian regimes of Central Asia, where access to the Internet has risen dramatically in… Continue reading The Mobilizing Potential of Communication Networks in Central Asia

News from Central Asia brings together Central Asian artists, artisans, and designers whose inspirational works reflect political protests, environmental issues, collective memory restoration, the role of women, objects as reminders of historical events, and the transformation caused by modernization. Curator Aida Sulova invited artists and designers from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan to share the news… Continue reading “News from Central Asia” Exhibit

Rhythms Of Lost Time Trailer DIRECTOR: Anisa Sabiri, Tajikistan A journey through the most remote parts of Tajikistan -a young and little-known country which cradles the last embers of an ancient culture. The film features British musician Leo Abrahams who has travelled to Tajikistan in search of maddoh - a form of transcendental funeral music… Continue reading Film Screenings (News from Central Asia)

Join us on Sunday to enjoy Central Asian art, culture, and food at our Silk Road Festival and discover local vendors, artists, cooks, and performers. Full Program "News From Central Asia" ExhibitMusical ProgramArts and CraftsTraditional Food and DrinksCentral Asian EmbassiesFilm Screening Co-sponsors

*COVID-19 Protocols for Visitors: GW requires that all visitors aged 5 and older be up-to-date on their COVID-19 vaccines, (i.e. fully vaccinated and boosted, if eligible). To help streamline the verification process, GW has partnered with CLEAR Health Pass to provide an easy and secure way to demonstrate proof of vaccination. The masks are required.  “A world in which… Continue reading Film Screening: There Is No Rain in Hell

President Shavkat Mirziyoev initiated several constitutional amendments in Uzbekistan at the end of June which have reminded the world about the autonomous republic of Karakalpakstan, bordering the dying Aral Sea. Efforts to diminish the Republic’s autonomy resulted in mass protests that unfortunately turned deadly. Join us to explore the reasons that prompted Mirziyoev’s constitutional amendments, Tashkent's… Continue reading Reform Crisis in Uzbekistan and the Karakalpak Protests

Gender-based violence, (geo)politics, and Islam continue to dominate the production of knowledge about Central Asia. While using a gender lens, this Special Issue offers a different perspective on the region. The authors link historical analyses of imperial and Soviet gendered modernities to contemporary Central Asians’ daily lives and local nationalisms to shed light on often… Continue reading Gender as Intersections: A Different Way of Seeing Central Asia

First migrating from northwest China to Russian Central Asia after the suppression of the Dungan Revolt (1862–1877) under the Manchu-led Qing dynasty, the Dungan people boast a rich oral tradition, which served as an important breeding ground for the development of Dungan written literature in the Soviet period. This presentation discusses the findings of an… Continue reading Dungan Folktales and Legends: The Folkloric Narrative Tradition of the Sino-Muslims in Central Asia

This panel proposes an interdisciplinary look at the culture of shame in Central Asia and evaluates its role in the regulation of social and political interactions in the region. Contributors will discuss how 'uyat' relies on patriarchal and hierarchical gender norms that negatively affect women and queer bodies through the taboo of sex education in… Continue reading Book Launch “Uyat and the Culture of Shame in Central Asia”