Murad Ismayilov – (Homogenising) Hybrid Intentionality and the Dialectics of Elite Attitudes to Islam: Towards a Re-Sacralisation of the Political Space in Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan's independence came after seven decades of militant atheism of the Soviet modernization project and emerged into staunch secularism of Western modernity, two factors that, on a par with the…
Central Asia Fellows Seminar. Social, Cultural and Spatial Inequalities in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan
4:30pm. Opening Marlene Laruelle (Director, Central Asia Program) 4:45pm. Presentations Savia Hasanova (Kyrgyzstan) Income Inequality in Kyrgyzstan: The Redistributive Effect of Social Benefits Berikbol Dukeyev (Kazakhstan) Ethnic Return Migration…
Cinema Club Film Screening: Daughter-in-Law (Kazakhstan, 2009)
Directed by Ermek Tursunov"Kelin, which translates to 'daughter-in-law', tells the story of a young woman living in the 2nd century A.D. in Kazakhstan, a setting in which traditional notions of womanhood…
Opening of the Exhibition “Through the Eyes of Durdy Bayramov”
The Central Asia Program is proud to announce the launch of the exhibition Through the Eyes of Durdy Bayramov Turkmen Village Life, 1960s-1980s An exhibition at the Central Asia Program…
Galina Yemelianova – Official Islamic Leadership in Central Asia: The Soviet Legacy
Central Asia is widely associated with Islam. However, throughout history the role of Islam in the region has been ambiguous and it has been mitigated by the pre-Islamic civilizational heritage,…
Sophie Roche – The Moscow Cathedral Mosque in the Life of Migrants from Central Asia
In this discussion, Sophie Roche will unfold the social life of migrants in, around and through the main mosque in Moscow, Prospekt Mira. This mosque is important for Putin's politics…
Cinema Club Film Screening: Angel on the Right (Tajikistan, 2002)
Directed by Djamshed Usmonov"Hamro, an unrepentant prodigal son straight out of a Russian jail, returns to his hometown to help his mother die with dignity. But his debts are many…
Central Asia Security Workshop
The Central Asia Security WorkshopMarch 6, 2017, 10:00am-4:00pm Central Asia Program, IERES George Washington University 1957 E Street, NW, Lindner Commons, Suite 602 10.00am. PANEL 1. CENTRAL ASIA’S DOMESTIC LANDSCAPES.…
Zuhra Halimova – Foreign Aid to Eurasia: Donors’ Agendas, Local Perceptions, and Lost Illusions
Various donor agencies have become active players in defining and drafting strategies of transition from communist heritages and pasts to modern democratic societies and market economies, as well as in…
Thomas Kent – Media and Trends in Central Asia
Please join us for a breakfast discussion with Thomas Kent, president of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) on the latest trends in the media sector in Central Asia. Topics to be discussed…
Douglas Blum – Cosmopolitan Kazakhs: A Case Study in How Globalization Works
On the basis of extensive fieldwork in Kazakhstan, Douglas Blum considers the experiences of young people who spent time in the US, asking what cultural "baggage" they brought home with…
Cinema Club Film Screening: Little Angel, Make Me Happy (Turkmenistan, 1993)
Directed by Usman SaparovThis film "tells an intimate story within the larger historical context of the deportation of ethnic Germans from Turkmenistan to Siberia during the Second World War. Saparov's historical…
Sergey Abashin – Central Asian Migrants in Russia: Will there be a Religious Radicalization?
Religious radicalization among Central Asian migrants to Russia have raised particular attention in connection with the active recruitment by the "Islamic State" of many people from the region, as well…
Islamic Education and Knowledge Transmission in Central Asia
Islamic Education and Knowledge Transmission in Central Asia April 10, 2017, 9:30am-3:00pm Central Asia Program, IERES George Washington University 1957 E Street, NW, Lindner Commons, Suite 602 9:30am. Session 1.…
Cinema Club Film Screening: “The Gift to Stalin” (Kazakhstan, 2008)
Directed by Rustem Abdrashev "Set in 1949, just before Stalin’s 70th-birthday jubilee, the film centers on Sasha (Dalen Shintemirov), a 9-year-old boy who escapes from a train transporting Jewish refugees from…
Mining Firms and Local Communities in Central Asia
Chair: Sean Roberts (George Washington University) Zhanyl Moldalieva (United Nations University—Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology) (Re)thinking Transparency and Accountability in Natural Resource Governance: The Case of Kyrgyzstan’s…
Julie McBrien – The Tricky Matter of Defining Religion
What is religion? The answer to this question is either so obvious that it needs no asking, or so abstract and theoretical that we end up declaring it insoluble. The…
The United States’ and Russia’s Relationship in Central Asia and its Neighborhood
Tuesday, May 2 10:30 Opening remarks Alexander Cooley (Harriman Institute, Columbia University) and Marlene Laruelle(George Washington University) 10:45-12:15 Panel 1. Central Asia and the ‘global order’ Chair: Rajan Menon (City…
Cinema Club Film Screening: “Two Horses of Genghis Khan” (Mongolia, 2009)
Directed by Byambasuren Davaa "Two Horses presents a stiff look at the crushing after-effects on Mongolian heritage in the years following the Chinese cultural revolution, in which priceless artifacts of music…
Social Cohesion in Kyrgyzstan
Social cohesion has emerged over the last two decades as an important concept in both academic and political discourse, especially in fragile and conflict-affected environments. At the same time, the…
Victoria Kim – Re-visiting the 1937 Deportation of Ethnic Koreans to Central Asia + Film Screening of “Koryo Saram The Unreliable People”
Re-visiting the 1937 Deportation of Ethnic Koreans to Central Asia: 80 Years of Survival and Prospering Followed by a screening of Koryo Saram The Unreliable People The year 2017 marks…
Ninth Fellows’ Seminar: Development Challenges and Evolving Identities in Central Asia and Azerbaijan
2:00pm. Introductory remarksMarlene Laruelle, Director, Central Asia Program 2:15-4:00pm. Panel 1. Identities, Ideologies and Religion in Flux Zhar Zardykhan (KIMEP, Almaty) Between Two Worlds: The Ambiguities of Kazakhstan's Search for…
Russia’s Approaches to Afghanistan and its Implications for Central Asia
Stephen Blank, American Foreign Policy Council Russia’s Policy toward Afghanistan and the Taliban and its Impact on Central Asia Stephen Blank is an internationally known expert on Russia and the…
ASTANA: “China’s “One Belt, One Road” project and its impact for Central Asia”
Nazarbayev University, Preliminary programme Day 1 8 June 2017 9.00 – 9.30 Registration 9.30 – 10.00 Welcome speech Shigeo Katsu, President, Nazarbayev University (TBC) Marlene Laruelle, Director CAP, George Washington University…
