Tag: Democracy
Between praise and persecution: Civil society in Kyrgyzstan
Introduction
Kyrgyzstan’s civil society has been renowned in Central Asia and beyond for its influence and activism. But with the sudden rise of a new populist president, civil society’s freedom and...
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...
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,...
New EU Strategy for Central Asia: First reactions
Editorial
Enough to do for the EU in Central Asia
I always have a ‘to-do list’ at work. And, like most people, before I complete one task, I already have a...
A new EU-Central Asia Strategy: Deepening relationships and generating long-lasting impact
Introduction
Over the past decade, the European Union (EU) has become an active actor in Central Asia. It has expanded its diplomatic presence, established co-operation mechanisms and increased its development...
Uzbekistan opening up
Optimism and doubt…
Uzbekistan has begun to take steps towards openness and economic and political reform. Since the death of President Islam Karimov in September 2016 and the parliamentary appointment...
Towards a new EU Strategy for Central Asia
Tactics or Strategy?
Ten years after the inception of the European Union’s (EU) Strategy for Central Asia, in June 2017 the European Council initiated a process to develop a new...
Mastering a Façade democracy: elections in Uzbekistan
President Islam Karimov of Uzbekistan has been re-elected after scoring 90 per cent of votes at the Uzbek general elections held on 29 March 2015. According to offcial estimates,...
Uncharted waters: Presidential successions in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan
Popular legend holds that the 18th century French King, Louis XV, claimed that after his death everything would fall apart (après moi, le déluge). To outsiders, a similar uncertainty...
Trading values with Kazakhstan
The European Union (EU) and Kazakhstan have become important partners over the past decade. The EU is Kazakhstan’s leading trade partner, accounting for 40 per cent of its exports....