Cinema Club Film Screening: Tahir and Zuhra
A 15th-century Uzbek 'Romeo and Juliet', this film, by Nabi Ganiev, quickly became one of the canons of Soviet cinema. "Takhir and Zukhra are childhood sweethearts brought up together at…
The Fight for Followers: Muslimness and Authenticity in Tajikistan
Recently, President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon has sought new ways to reassert his Muslim identity. These public acts of piety serve not only to sway the population toward the state…
The Central Asia Security Workshop
9:00am. Registration and Breakfast 9:30-11:00am. Session 1. The Chinese ‘One Belt One Road’ Strategy Chair: Robert Sutter (George Washington University) Alexander Cooley (Harriman Institute, Columbia University) One Road, One Belt,…
Adeeb Khalid – The Making of Uzbekistan: Nation Making in an Age of Revolution
Uzbekistan appeared on the map in 1924. Adeeb Khalid traces its emergence in the interstices between Soviet nationalities policies and the strivings of the Central Asian Muslim intelligentsia. Understanding the origins…
Daniil Kislov – The State of Media in Central Asia
Daniil Kislov is chief editor of Fergana.ru/Fergananews.com web edition. He was born in 1965 in the city of Ferghana, Uzbekistan, but was banned from visiting Uzbekistan in 2005. Fergana.ru information…
Selbi Jumayeva – Feminist Organizing in Kyrgyzstan
During this discussion, Selbi Jumayeva will share her experiences in the women’s rights activism, feminist organizing and anti-violence campaigning in Kyrgyzstan and discuss gender and sexuality issues in Central Asia,…
Jesse Driscoll – Beyond Hobbesian Legitimacy: Thinking A Way Out Of Neopatrimonialism in Central Asia
Despite Tajikistan's impassable mountains, hostile neighborhood, and overall bleak structural inheritance, its civil war was resolved with unusual speed. The Tajik Civil War was settled through the selective co-optation of many…
Cinema Club Screening: “The Builders (Stroiteli)” (2013)
Three siblings - two teenage brothers and their little sister - are evicted from their apartment. The youngsters' last hope rests on a plot of land outside of the city,…
Yerken Turganbayev – Regional Disparities in Kazakhstan
Economic development in Kazakhstan was accompanied by increasing disparities across the country's various regions, which has contributed to a number of social and economic problems. The urgency to find a solution…
Joanna J. Sienkiewicz – (Trans-)National Social Protection of Repatriates from Kazakhstan in Germany
In the first half of the 1990s, about one million ethnic Germans of all ages resettled in Germany. Many of those movers wanted to return to their 'homeland' and improve…
Inside the Pyramid: Is Central Asia Authoritarianism Stable?
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,…
Understanding Regime Legitimacy in Central Asia
A round table organized by GW's Central Asia Program and CRCEES, University of Glasgow Chair: Marlene Laruelle (GWU) Sally Cummings (St Andrews) Edward Schatz (University of Toronto) Luca Anceschi (Glasgow University) Patrimonial,…
Cinema Club in Partnership with the Embassy of Tajikistan: “Rostam and Sohrab” (1971)
Opening remarks by H.E. Farhod Salim, Ambassador of Tajikistan in the United States. This epic masterpiece by Tajik director Boris Kimyagarov is a patriotic ode to the Persian poet Ferdowsi. The…
Theodore P. Gerber – Political and Social Attitudes of Russia’s Muslims: Caliphate, Kadyrovism, or Kasha?
Russia's Muslim population, estimated at 16.4 million in 2010, is often considered as a potential source of instability, given perennial concerns about threat of extremist movements, particularly in the North…
Aurélie Biard – The Tablighi Revivalism and its Social and Political Implications in Kyrgyzstan
How are revivalist forms of Islam emanating from the Indian subcontinent, especially the 'preaching group' of the Tablighi Jama'at, impacting the construction of post-Soviet national identities and attitudes vis-à-vis society…
Michele Commercio – The Rise of Polygamy in Kyrgyzstan: A Consequence of the Country’s Post-Soviet Islamic Revival?
Although there are no official statistics reflecting cases of polygamy in Kyrgyzstan, anecdotal evidence suggests that polygamy is on the rise. This talk explores possible reasons for this and asks,…
David Kemme & Kassymkhan Kapparov – The Evolution of the National Oil Fund of Kazakhstan: Inception, Utilization and Expectations
The National Oil Fund of Kazakhstan (NOF) was created by Presidential Decree in 2002. Funded by direct taxes and royalties from natural resource producers, it was intended to be…
Cholpon Turdalieva – Landscapes of Imperial Violence: Kyrgyzstan and the Kyrgyz through the Lens of Western Travelogues
Russian colonial dominance in Central Asia changed the economics, politics and culture of the conquered lands and peoples. Various sources document these changes, including travelogues written by nineteenth and early…
Nick Megoran – What happens when new international boundaries appear? The example of Central Asia’s Ferghana Valley
Central Asia's Ferghana Valley has historically been a mosaic of social groups and identities. The emergence of international boundaries with the break-up of the Soviet Union imposed a new political…
Mirzokhid Rakhimov – Contemporary History of Uzbekistan: Challenges of an Interdisciplinary Approach
Contemporary history is a relatively new discipline for the social sciences and the humanities. Studying the recent history of Uzbekistan is still not an established trend, even in Uzbekistan, and doesn't have…
Nargis Kassenova & CAAFP Fellows – New Challenges in Central Asia. Changing Societies in a Time of Economic Crisis
With Nargis Kassenova (KIMEP) and the Central Asia - Azerbaijan Program Fellows Chair: Marlene Laruelle (IERES, GW) 3:00pm. Nargis Kassenova (KIMEP) Kazakhstan 2016: The Politics of Crisis Discussion 4:00pm Kassymkhan…
STOCKHOLM – Tajikistan. Approaches, fieldworks and topics
A Conference organized by the Swedish Institute of International Affairs and The George Washington University’s Central Asia Program (CAP) Stockholm, June 13-14, 2016 June 13, 2016 9.45-10.00 Welcoming Remarks and…
Shahrbanou Tadjbakhsh – Book Launch for “A Rock Between Hard Places: Afghanistan as an Arena of Regional Insecurity”
By Kristian Berg Harpviken and Shahrbanou Tadjbakhsh What drives neighboring states to intervene in the Afghan conflict? This book challenges mainstream analyses which place Afghanistan at the center - the so-called 'heart'…
Safarbek Soliev – Film Screening: “Komil”
A documentary film about the founder of Tajik and Uzbek cinematography, Komil Yormatov, with introductory remarks by director Safarbek Soliev. Please RSVP. Presented in partnership with Asia-Plus.
