Lockdown (dis)connect
Editorial
Narrowing down the digital divide in Central Asian education and civil activism
2020 will go down in history as the ‘lockdown year’ amid the global covid-19 pandemic. Coincidentally, 2020 was also...
Delivering aid ‘uphill’: Discussing development cooperation in the mountainous regions of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan
The mountainous regions of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan present a set of specific development challenges and opportunities to inhabitants, local governments, and international donors alike. Often, there is a mismatch...
Central Asian views on Eurasia’s turbulent 2020 events
Editorial
Covid-19 takes a backseat to war, protests, and power struggles
While the world continued to struggle with Covid-19 and had their eyes set on the outcome of the US elections,...
Out of the frying pan and into the fire: Kyrgyzstani women abroad
Kyrgyzstani female labourers working abroad face a double risk: being women and being migrants. Most lack basic social and legal protection. Indira is a Kyrgyz hairdresser in Moscow. Because...
Not safe at home: Covid-19 in Kyrgyzstan
Women and girls in Kyrgyzstan have been severely affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. Domestic violence and sexual abuse already were a serious problem in the Central Asian region as...
Emancipation or back to the kitchen? Gender and civil society in Kyrgyzstan
The Kyrgyz state in general and the healthcare system in particular were overwhelmed by the Covid-19 pandemic in the spring of 2020. When the state was unavailable to help,...
What does a ‘good life’ mean for Central Asia?
Editorial
Can life in Europe serve as a guide for development policies towards Central Asia?
Amid concerns and uncertainty about one’s own health and that of our loved ones, the COVID-19...
Invisible migration with visible consequences
Kyrgyzstan’s capital Bishkek is growing fast. While official data indicates only a few thousand ‘visible’ migrants moving from rural areas to the capital each year, unofficial estimations point to...
Right to Privacy in Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyz citizens’ right to privacy is at risk. In autumn 2019, Kyrgyz news centered mainly on government plans to install in Bishkek Chinese facial recognition cameras that were donated...
How the EU links Central Asia to Afghanistan’s development
In 2019, the European Union (EU) released a new strategy for Central Asia. Whereas the strategy is focused on the five Central Asian ‘stans’, it does seek to include...