Central Asia Events
Islam in Eurasia Policy Conference
June 06, 2013 // 2:00pm — June 07, 2013 // 5:15pm
Kennan Institute
The Islam in Eurasia Policy Conference will combine the latest scholarship and informed discussion of the critical issues facing the U.S. Government in this key part of the world as 2014 approaches. It is the culminating event of a multiyear research project supported by Carnegie Corporation of New York.
Beyond Nabucco: An Update on the Southern Gas Corridor and European Energy Security
April 30, 2013 // 10:00am — 12:00pm
European Studies
The race to build the Southern Energy Corridor to bring Caspian natural gas to Europe is in its final stages. The Shah Deniz consortium in Azerbaijan is set to once and for all decide the long-pending "Nabucco question". How will this improve European energy security? Experts from Baku's Center for Strategic Studies and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan gather to discuss this, as well as other pertinent questions at a roundtable discussion co-hosted by the Global Europe Program and the Kennan Institute.
Exiting Anarchy: Militia Politics after the Post-Soviet Wars
March 21, 2013 // 4:00pm — 5:30pm
Kennan Institute
Jesse Driscoll, Academy Scholar, Harvard Academy for International and Area Studies, Harvard University, and Assistant Professor of Political Science, School of International Relations and Pacific Studies, University of California at San Diego discussed his forthcoming book on how political order emerged in Tajikistan and Georgia after the violent chaos of the Soviet collapse.
Book Discussion: "Is There A Place for Uzbeks in The Kyrgyz Republic?: Lessons from 'Under Solomon's Throne: Uzbek Visions of Societal Renewal in Osh'"
October 04, 2012 // 3:30pm — 5:30pm
Kennan Institute
Spotlight on Central Eurasia Series // 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 they felt ethnic discrimination, local Uzbek leaders labored through the 1990s and 2000s to build institutions that serve the Uzbek communities within the framework of their Kyrgyzstani citizenship. That model of ethnic community-building now lies in tatters after the massive conflict between Kyrgyz and Uzbeks in June 2010. What now for Uzbeks in the Kyrgyz Republic? As part of the Kennan Institute's Spotlight on Central Eurasia Speaker Series, Morgan Y. Liu will evaluate their prospects in light of sixteen years of detailed ethnographic work among Osh Uzbeks.
Labor Migration in Eurasia: Links to Global Migration and Human Security Trends
September 21, 2012 // 9:00am — 5:00pm
Kennan Institute
Using a comparative approach to incorporate research initiatives into a global context can make a significant contribution to the current understanding of migration. In partnership with the Social Science Research Council, the Kennan Institute will host leading specialists on migration issues from Russia and the United States to discuss their most recent work, as well as share preliminary findings from research supported by the National Science Foundation. This research was conducted as part of the MINERVA initiative grant “People, Power, and Conflict in the Eurasian Migration System,” led by Cynthia Buckley, Beth Mitchneck, and Blair Ruble.
The Failure of Democracy in Post-Soviet Eurasia
June 12, 2012 // 3:30pm — 5:30pm
Kennan Institute
Twenty years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, it is clear that democracy has failed to take root in most former Soviet republics. Based on extensive field research in the region, Kennan Institute Title VIII-Supported Research Scholars Jody LaPorte and Danielle Lussier will discuss the varieties of non-democratic regimes that have developed and will offer some explanations for the failure of democracy in Russia, Central Asia, and the Caucasus.
Geopolitics, States, and Networks in Central Eurasia
May 09, 2012 // 3:30pm — 5:30pm
Kennan Institute
Spotlight on Central Eurasia Series // Authors and scholars Alexander Cooley and Alexander Kupatadze discuss their research into the interplay of geopolitics and local networks across Central Asia. Cooley explores the dynamics of the new competition between Russia, China and the United States over the region since 9/11, as well as how small states’ interaction with great powers advances our understanding of how world politics actually works in the contemporary era of diminishing Western influence and rising new regional powers. Author Alexander Kupatadze will discuss the diverging trajectories of organized crime in post-Soviet Eurasia focusing on professional criminals (so-called vory-v-zakone) in Georgia and drug smuggling groups in Kyrgyzstan.
Energy Politics in Central Eurasia
March 28, 2012 // 3:30pm — 5:30pm
Kennan Institute
Spotlight on Central Eurasia Series // Stacy Closson argues that Central Asia is an energy and water rich region that, if cooperative, could cover their annual shortages of electricity, which range roughly around 25%, as well as decrease costs of energy, and protect the environment. Instead, the leaders have engaged in hostile practices that not only cause problems across borders and waste foreign investment and assistance, but also limit their developmental possibilities. Gregory Gleason notes that inherently non-transparent and centralized fixed energy infrastructures such as oil and gas pipelines and electric grids obscure financial transactions and are susceptible to political manipulation. Gleason, in his analysis of "power politics," explains why he sees the rapid pace of technology-driven market volatility in Eurasian markets as swiftly shifting Central Asian trends.
Book Discussion: "Chaos, Violence, Dynasty: Politics and Islam in Central Asia"
November 17, 2011 // 8:30am — 10:30am
Kennan Institute
Spotlight on Central Eurasia Series // The speaker will discuss his book, a compelling study of the divergent political courses taken by Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan in the wake of Soviet rule. McGlinchey examines economics, religion, political legacies, foreign investment, and the ethnicity of these countries to evaluate the relative success of political structures in each nation.
Book Discussion: Citizens in the Making in Post-Soviet States
October 11, 2011 // 12:00pm — 1:00pm
Kennan Institute
The political outlook of young people in the countries of the former Soviet Union is crucial to their countries’ future political development. This is particularly relevant now as the first generation without firsthand experience of communism at first hand is approaching adulthood. Based on extensive original research and including new survey research amongst young people, this book examines young people’s political outlook in countries of the former Soviet Union; it compares and contrasts Russia, where authoritarianism has begun to reassert itself, and Ukraine, which experienced a democratic breakthrough in the aftermath of the Orange Revolution.