Download or read book The Politics of Transition in Central Asia and the Caucasus written by Amanda E Wooden and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2009-06-08 with total page 302 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Most books on the Caucasus and Central Asia are country-by-country studies. This book, on the other hand, fills a gap in Central Eurasian studies as one of the few comparative case study books on Central Eurasia, covering both the Caucasus and Central Asia; it considers key themes right across the two regions highlighting both political change and continuity. Comparative case study chapters, written by regional experts from a variety of methodological backgrounds, provide historical context, and evaluate Soviet political legacies and emerging policy outcomes. Key topics include: the varied types and sources of authoritarianism; political opposition and protest politics; predetermined outcomes of post-Soviet economic choices; social and stability impacts of natural resource wealth; variations in educational reform; international norm influence on gender policy and the power of human rights activists. Overall, the book provides a thorough, up-to-date overview of what is increasingly becoming a significant area of concern.

Download or read book Colloquial Dutch 2 written by Gerda Bodegom and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2005-06 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Colloquial Dutch 2 is the next step in language learning for those who already have a basic knowledge of Dutch. The authentic dialogues, texts and variety of exercises in this course will help learners to consolidate their language skills and further their language competence. Key features include: * a section devoted to idiomatic expressions in each unit * cultural points and information on various dialects * vocabulary lists relative to the topics of each unit. Accompanying audio material is available to purchase separately on CD/MP3 format, or comes included in the great value Colloquials Pack. For the eBook and MP3 pack, please find instructions on how to access the supplementary content for this title in the Prelims section.

Download or read book Energy Wealth and Governance in the Caucasus and Central Asia written by Richard Auty and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2006-08-21 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Drawing upon recent progress in development economics and political science, the book provides fresh analysis of the Caucasus and Central Asia (CCA) countries transition to a market economy by tracing the impact of natural resource endowment. The book examines the synergies between energy-rich and energy-poor states and highlights the practical consequences of both well-managed and poorly-managed deployment of energy. Featuring contributions from prominent specialists on resource-driven economies, the book argues that unless CCA elites change the way in which they deploy natural resource, revenues regional development will fall short of its potential with possible disastrous consequences. The contributors apply the experience of the developing market economies to demonstrate that the region still holds considerable potential to become an important, stable supplier of raw materials and a source of industrial demand to the global economy. However, the CCA is equally likely to become a threat to the global economy as a consequence of the misuse of energy revenues to promote the interests of predatory political elites.

Download or read book Failed Transition Bleak Future written by Hooman Peimani and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2002-04-30 with total page 177 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Peimani challenges the practical indifference of many Western and non-Western countries with interests in Central Asia and the Caucasus to their plight. Independence in 1991 suddenly worsened all the economic and social problems of the countries of the Caucasus (Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Georgia) and Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan). Their failure to address their numerous economic problems and to develop their economies has created a suitable ground for the rise of social and political popular dissent, including ethnic conflicts, in all these multi-ethnic countries. Concerned about the stability of their political systems, their ruling elites have all opted for authoritarianism. The prevailing intolerance of dissent and the suppression of opposition, political parties have paved the way for the emergence of anti-government extremist ideologies and political groups. The domestic situation has become ripe for the rise of violent political activities and ethnic conflicts, with a great possibility for their escalation to civil wars. The ethnic structure of both the Caucasus and Central Asia makes their development into inter-state wars a strong possibility. The unsettled ethnic and territorial conflicts within and between countries, which turned into wars in the early 1990s, could easily re-emerge. There is a potential for the further escalation of military conflicts in those regions because of the intentional or unintentional intervention of Iran, China, Turkey, Russia, and the United States, which have long-term interests in the two regions. Given the geographical characteristics of the Caucasus and Central Asia as a link between Asia and Europe, war and instability in those regions could destabilize the two continents hosting six declared nuclear powers. Of particular interest to scholars and other researchers involved with Eurasian, Central Asian, and Caucasian countries.

Download or read book The OSCE and the Multiple Challenges of Transition written by Farian Sabahi and published by Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.. This book was released on 2004 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the wake of 9/11 and the US intervention in Afghanistan, Central Asia and the Caucasus have moved to the forefront of the international political agenda. This volume provides information and expertise in relation to issues such as oil and drug control.

Download or read book Regime Transition in Central Asia written by Dagikhudo Dagiev and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-10-30 with total page 281 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Presenting a study of regime transition, political transformation, and the challenges that faced the post-Communist republics of Central Asia on independence, this book focuses on the process of transition in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, and the obstacles that these newly-independent states are facing in the post-Communist period. The book analyses how in the early stages of their independence, the governments of Central Asia declared that they would build democratic states, but that in practice, they demonstrated that they are more inclined towards authoritarianism. With the declaration of independence, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, like many other former Soviet national republics, were faced with the issues of nationalism, ethnicity, identity and territorial delimitation. This book looks at how the discourse of patrimonial nationalism in post-Communist Tajikistan and Uzbekistan has been the elites’ strategy to address all these issues: to maintain the stateness of their respective countries; to preserve the unity of their nation; to fill the ideological void of post-Communism; to prevent the rise of Islam; and to legitimize their authoritarian practice. Arguing against the claim that the Central Asian states have undergone divergent paths of transition, the book discusses how they are in fact all authoritarian, although exhibiting different degrees of authoritarianism. This book provides a useful contribution to studies on Central Asian Politics and International Relations.

Download or read book Central Asia written by Tom Everett-Heath and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2003-12-08 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The five central Asian States of Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan stand at the crossroads of world civilization. Influenced by South Asia, Iran, China and Russia, this region which has recently burst onto the world stage once again, guards a distinct identity. This collection by established experts on the area covers the dramatic Soviet interventions of the early twentieth century, and details the role of ethnicity and the contribution made by Islamic impulses in the process of building the modern nation states.

Download or read book The Central Asian Economies in the Twenty First Century written by Richard Pomfret and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2019-01-15 with total page 329 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book analyzes the Central Asian economies of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, from their buffeting by the commodity boom of the early 2000s to its collapse in 2014. Richard Pomfret examines the countries’ relations with external powers and the possibilities for development offered by infrastructure projects as well as rail links between China and Europe. The transition of these nations from centrally planned to market-based economic systems was essentially complete by the early 2000s, when the region experienced a massive increase in world prices for energy and mineral exports. This raised incomes in the main oil and gas exporters, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan; brought more benefits to the most populous country, Uzbekistan; and left the poorest countries, the Kyrgyz Republic and Tajikistan, dependent on remittances from migrant workers in oil-rich Russia and Kazakhstan. Pomfret considers the enhanced role of the Central Asian nations in the global economy and their varied ties to China, the European Union, Russia, and the United States. With improved infrastructure and connectivity between China and Europe (reflected in regular rail freight services since 2011 and China’s announcement of its Belt and Road Initiative in 2013), relaxation of United Nations sanctions against Iran in 2016, and the change in Uzbekistan’s presidency in late 2016, a window of opportunity appears to have opened for Central Asian countries to achieve more sustainable economic futures.

Download or read book Identity and Politics in Central Asia and the Caucasus written by Mohammed Ayoob and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2015-02-20 with total page 232 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The multicultural region of Central Eurasia is living through its early post-independence years and as such serves as an ideal case to study and analyse theories of identity and foreign policy in a non-European context. Looking to re-introduce identity as a multidimensional factor informing state behaviour, this book analyses the experiences of the different Central Eurasian states in their post-independence pursuits. The book is structured into two broadly defined sections, with the first half examining the different ways in which the combination of domestic, regional, international and trans-national forces worked to advance one national identity over the others in the states that comprise the region of post-Soviet Central Eurasia. In the second half, chapters analyse the many ways in which identity, once shaped, affected foreign policy behaviours of the regional states, as well as the overall security dynamics in the region. The book also looks at the ways in which identity, by doing so, enjoys an intricate, mutually constitutive relationship with the strategic context in which it bears its effects on the state and the region. Finally, given the special role Russia has historically played in defining the evolutionary trajectory of the regional states, the book discusses the ways in which Russia itself and its post-cold war policies towards its former colonies have been conditioned by factors associated with Russia’s evolving post-Soviet identity. Placing the region firmly within existing theories of identity and state practices, the book will be of interest to students and scholars of Central Asian Politics, Security Studies, Foreign Policy and International Relations.

Download or read book Central Asia in Transition written by Boris Z. Rumer and published by M.E. Sharpe. This book was released on 1996 with total page 312 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Explores the complex and intertwined problems of geopolitics and economic transition of the five new countries that inherited from the Soviet Union the strategic positions and rich natural resources of Central Asia. Economists and political scientists from the region offer their sometimes opposing views of the situation, what led to it, and how to deal with it, some focusing on a particular country and some considering the region as a whole. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Download or read book Energy and Conflict in Central Asia and the Caucasus written by Robert Ebel and published by Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. This book was released on 2000-11-28 with total page 277 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This timely study is the first to examine the relationship between competition for energy resources and the propensity for conflict in the Caspian region. Taking the discussion well beyond issues of pipeline politics and the significance of Caspian oil and gas to the global market, the book offers significant new findings concerning the impact of energy wealth on the political life and economies of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Turkmenistan. The contributors, a leading group of scholars and policymakers, explore the differing interests of ruling elites, the political opposition, and minority ethnic and religious groups region-wide. Placing Caspian development in the broader international relations context, the book assesses the ways in which Russia, China, Iran, and Turkey are fighting to protect their interests in the newly independent states and how competition for production contracts and pipeline routes influences regional security. Specific chapters also link regional issues to central questions of international politics and to theoretical debates over the role of energy wealth in political and economic development worldwide. Woven throughout the implications for U.S. policy, giving the book wide appeal to policymakers, corporate executives, energy analysts, and scholars alike.

Download or read book Understanding Central Asia written by Sally N. Cummings and published by Psychology Press. This book was released on 2012 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Since Soviet collapse, the independent republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan have faced tremendous political, economic, and security challenges. Focusing on these five republics, this textbook analyzes the contending understandings of the politics of the past, present and future transformations of Central Asia, including its place in international security and world politics. Analysing the transformation that independence has brought and tracing the geography, history, culture, identity, institutions and economics of Central Asia, it locates ‘the political’ in the region. A comprehensive examination of the politics of Central Asia, this insightful book is of interest both to undergraduate and graduate students of Asian Politics, Post-Communist Politics, Comparative Politics and International Relations, and to scholars and professionals in the region.

Download or read book Conflict Cleavage and Change in Central Asia and the Caucasus written by Karen Dawisha and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 1997-06-13 with total page 448 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume examines the former Soviet states of Central Asia and the Caucasus.

Download or read book Central Asia at the End of the Transition written by Boris Z. Rumer and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2016-07-22 with total page 472 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For better or worse, the former Soviet republics of Central Asia have largely completed their post-independence transitions. Over more than a decade, they have established themselves as independent states whose internal regimes and external relations have characteristic patterns and vulnerabilities both individually and as a group. The purpose of this volume is to assess both what has been accomplished and the trends of development in the region, especially its leading states. How sound are the foundations of this "bulwark against the spread of terrorism" in Eurasia?

Download or read book Life After the Soviet Union written by Nozar Alaolmolki and published by SUNY Press. This book was released on 2001-10-19 with total page 204 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Examines the political, social, and economic issues confronted by each of the newly independent republics in the Transcaucasus and Central Asian regions.

Download or read book Development in Central Asia and the Caucasus written by Sophie Hohmann and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2014-06-25 with total page 376 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: After the final collapse of the Soviet Union, the so-called 'last empire', in 1991, the countries of Central Asia - Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan - and of the Caucasus - Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia - became independent nations. These countries, previously production centres under the socialist planning system of the Soviet Union, have made enormous economic adjustments in order to develop - or attempt to develop - along capitalist lines. As this study will show, however, inequality in Central Asia and the Caucasus is widening, as the Soviet systems of healthcare and state provisions disappear. Rejecting the Cold War-era East/West paradigm often used to analyse the development of these nations, this study analyses development along the North-South lines which characterise the migration patterns and poverty levels of much of the rest of the developed world. This opens up new avenues of research, and helps us understand why it is, for instance, that this region is better characterised as a 'new South' - as skilled workers flood out of the territories and into Russia and Western Europe. Development in Central Asia and the Caucasus draws together detailed analyses of the development of migration economics as the region's oil wealth further enhances its strategic and economic importance to Russia, the US, the Middle East and to the EU.

Download or read book Understanding Central Asia written by Sally N. Cummings and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-01-25 with total page 275 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Since Soviet collapse, the independent republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan have faced tremendous political, economic, and security challenges. Focusing on these five republics, this textbook analyzes the contending understandings of the politics of the past, present and future transformations of Central Asia, including its place in international security and world politics. Analysing the transformation that independence has brought and tracing the geography, history, culture, identity, institutions and economics of Central Asia, it locates ‘the political’ in the region. A comprehensive examination of the politics of Central Asia, this insightful book is of interest both to undergraduate and graduate students of Asian Politics, Post-Communist Politics, Comparative Politics and International Relations, and to scholars and professionals in the region.