|
|
|
Sort Order |
|
|
|
Items / Page
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Srl | Item |
| 1 |
ID:
080414
|
|
|
|
|
| Publication |
2007.
|
| Summary/Abstract |
This article compares two transition economies that have diverged in their progress on important economic reform areas and then seeks to link these differences to their resulting levels of investment and business. For this study, interviews were conducted with firm representatives that had invested or conducted business in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan in order to determine the areas of reform that were the most important for their investment and business decisions. The analysis indicates a relationship between Kazakhstan's advanced economic reforms in such areas as foreign investment legislation, tax legislation, banking system reform, and higher levels of investment and business. Uzbekistan's lack of progress in these reform areas has affected the level of investment in the country, but not the number of firms conducting business. This was primarily because firms could secure financing for the business through the US Export-Import Bank
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 2 |
ID:
080417
|
|
|
|
|
| Publication |
2007.
|
| Summary/Abstract |
This article attempts to measure and quantify the dramatic ideological, economic and value system changes in post-Soviet Uzbekistan, using data from the Asia Barometer survey. It offers a snapshot of the situation in Uzbekistan by describing the basic changes in people's everyday lives, the way they think and act, what they aspire to and how they relate with each other. Two traceable trends in respondents' answers are a certain distrust of each other and a desire to protect themselves through close kinship or residential ties. This results in a situation where people build 'barriers' along family or community lines while preserving close relations within these units. Maintaining a balance between traditionalism, conservatism and modernization, and establishing societal trust not only within limited social networks but also between them are of crucial importance for Uzbekistan as it strives to rebuild its economy and society
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 3 |
ID:
080413
|
|
|
|
|
| Publication |
2007.
|
| Summary/Abstract |
This paper explores Islam in Georgia and analyses empirical results from preliminary field research in Tbilisi, more particularly in Kvemo-Kartli, whose inhabitants are predominantly Shi'ites and ethnic Azeris, as well as in Adjaria, where Sunni Adjars are resisting attempts at (re)-Christianization. Moreover, field inquiries were carried out in the Pankisi Valley, where approximately 6000 Kists live. Most publications dealing with Georgia's history neglect the role of Islam in the process of nation and state building and tend to forget that it was at some point in time one of the constituent components of the country's consolidation as a state. Most scholars insist on recalling that, right after Armenia, Georgia was one of the first nations to adopt Christianity as state religion. Therefore, when referring to Islam, the latter is often presented as an alien, extraneous and aggressive element. After 70 years of Soviet atheism, the newly independent state ideologically and strategically promotes Orthodox Christianity as central element of Georgian identity. All Islamic communities and institutions in Georgia, be they Sunni or Shi'ite, are theoretically under the central authority of the imam of Tbilisi's central mosque, Akhund Hadji Ali, himself dependant on the Baku-based Administration of the Muslims of the Caucasus. The reality shows, however, that there are two major separate Muslim communities living in Georgia: the Shi'ite Azeris and the Sunni Adjars, who scarcely co-operate. The place of Christianity in the national ideology and the promotion of Christian values tendentiously lead to the marginalization or exclusion of Muslims from the national community. However, in their day-to-day life, Muslims are not discriminated against, and most of the time all religious communities live together in good harmony. In general, Islam is considered as a 'traditional' religion, and as such is tolerated by the Georgian authorities, which differs very much from the way they reject 'non-traditional' religions
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 4 |
ID:
080416
|
|
|
|
|
| Publication |
2007.
|
| Summary/Abstract |
The sudden independence of Kyrgyzstan from the Soviet Union in 1991 led to a total rupture of industrial and agricultural production. Based on empirical data, this study seeks to identify key land use transformation processes since the late 1980s, their impact on people's livelihoods and the implication for natural resources in the communes of Tosh Bulak and Saz, located in the Sokuluk River Basin on the northern slope of the Kyrgyz Range. Using the concept of the sustainable livelihood approach as an analytical framework, three different livelihood strategies were identified: (1) An accumulation strategy applied by wealthy households where renting and/or buying of land is a key element; they are the only household category capable of venturing into rain fed agriculture. (2) A preserving strategy involving mainly intermediate households who are not able to buy or rent additional agricultural land; very often they are forced to return their land to the commune or sell it to wealthier households. (3) A coping strategy including mainly poor households consisting of elderly pensioners or headed by single mothers; due to their limited labour and economic power, agricultural production is very low and hardly covers subsistence needs; pensions and social allowances form the backbone of these livelihoods. Ecological assessments have shown that the forage productivity of remote high mountain pastures has increased from 5 to 22 per cent since 1978. At the same time forage productivity on pre-mountain and mountain pastures close to villages has generally decreased from 1 to 34 per cent. It seems that the main avenues for livelihoods to increase their wealth are to be found in the agricultural sector by controlling more and mainly irrigated land as well as by increasing livestock. The losers in this process are thus those households unable to keep or exploit their arable land or to benefit from new agricultural land. Ensuring access to land for the poor is therefore imperative in order to combat rural poverty and socio-economic disparities in rural Kyrgyzstan
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 5 |
ID:
080412
|
|
|
|
|
| Publication |
2007.
|
| Summary/Abstract |
This article focuses on poetry written about the 13 May 2005 events in Andijon, Uzbekistan to examine how Uzbek identity is expressed in relation to the narrow nationalism of post-Soviet Uzbek state culture. While the Uzbek government insists the 13 May events were a justified retaliation against armed insurgents, the authors of the Andijon poems portray the episode as a brutal attack on innocent civilians by government forces. In so doing, they not only contradict the official state narrative, but challenge the legitimacy of the government's construction of Uzbek identity and nationhood. This article examines the content, language and distribution of the poems as well as the persecution and arrests of their authors. The cases of these dissident poets touch on a number of theoretical issues - among them nationalism, identity, authoritarianism and literary politics - which have risen to the fore as a result of the Andijon events
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 6 |
ID:
080418
|
|
|
|
|
| Publication |
2007.
|
| Summary/Abstract |
This article seeks to explore the implications of Shanghai Cooperation Organization's (SCO) engagement with India, Pakistan and Iran. Not in terms of power-politics or as a counterbalance to the USA as this has been explored elsewhere, but what practical problems such an expanded organization could help solve, what opportunities it could realize, and how SCO's engagement in trade is a function of favourable political and bilateral developments in the region. It is argued here that the trade, infrastructure and energy sectors are of particular importance and that substantial potential gains could be realized if coordination is improved. Nevertheless, it is also recognized that China, Russia, Pakistan, India and Iran may have lower standards of democratic development and economic transparency than the West. What is the motivation behind the SCO's engagement with India, Pakistan and Iran? Should this engagement be conceived only in terms of balancing US unipolarity or are there legitimate concerns of increasing regional cooperation in Eurasia?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 7 |
ID:
080415
|
|
|
|
|
| Publication |
2007.
|
| Summary/Abstract |
Factionalism, in all its forms, has created an obstacle to achieving progressive reforms in Central Asia. Recent research in political science has examined different kinds of factionalism in the region and what impact they have on the government structure and decision-making processes. This article focuses on a debate between 'regional' vs 'clan' models of factionalism. It explores the different approaches while examining the implicit assumptions made in these arguments. Although these studies have provided valuable information and concepts, an interdisciplinary approach may bring further insights. Anthropological studies are juxtaposed to the political science models to present an alternative view, which also contributes to broaden the debate by considering a variety of meanings. Labels such as 'regional' or 'clan' conceal the complexity of relationships. Everyday experiences need to be analysed alongside the political interpretations of these relationships
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|