The Routledge Handbook of Contemporary Central Asia offers the first comprehensive, cross-disciplinary overview of key issues in Central Asian studies. The 30 chapters by leading and emerging scholars summarise major findings in the field and highlight long-term trends, recent observations and future developments in the region. The handbook features case studies of all five Central Asian republics and is organised thematically in seven sections:
History Politics Geography International Relations Political Economy Society and Culture Religion
An essential cross-disciplinary reference work, the handbook offers an accessible and easyto- understand guide to the core issues permeating the region to enable readers to grasp the fundamental challenges, transformations and themes in contemporary Central Asia. It will be of interest to researchers, academics and students of the region and those working in the field of Area Studies, History, Anthropology, Politics and International Relations.
Chapter 23 of this book is available for free in PDF format as Open Access from the individual product page at www.routledge.com. It has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.
Introduction: Introducing Central Asian Studies PART I HISTORY 1. Central Asia before the advent of Russian Dominion 2. Russian rule in Central Asia 3. Collectivisation, Sedentarism and Famine in Central Asia 4. Development in Post-war Central Asia PART II POLITICS 5. Varieties of Authoritarianism in Central Asia 6. Informal Governance, ‘Clan’ politics and Corruption 7. Nation-Building in Central Asia: Policy and Discourse 8. Unsettled Space: Unfinished Histories of Border Delimitation in the Ferghana Valley PART III GEOGRAPHY 9. Boundaries, Borders and Identities 10. The history of water politics in Central Asia 11. Rethinking Spectacular Cities: Beyond Authoritarianism and Mastermind Schemes 12. Politics of Green Development: Trees vs. Roads PART IV INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS 13. Russia and Central Asia: Evolving Mutual Perceptions and the Rise of Postcolonial Perspectives 14. China-Central Asia Relations: Re-learning to Live Next to the Giant 15. U.S. Policy and Central Asia 16. Domestic Sources of Foreign Policy in Central Asia 17. Military Power and Capacity 18. Globalisation and Migration in Central Asia PART V POLITICAL ECONOMY 19. Economic Reform and Development in Central Asia 20. Oil, Capital, and Labour Around the Caspian 21. Corruption 22. Modernisation and development in Central Asia PART VI SOCIETY AND CULTURE 23. The Nationalization of Traditions 24. Thinking with Gender About Central Asia 25. Contemporary Art in Central Asia 26. Language Policy and Language in Central Asia PART VII RELIGON 27. Islam Renewal in Central Asia 28. Securitisation of Religion in Central Asia 29. Liberalism and Islam in Central Asia 30. Tengrism
Rico Isaacs is Associate Professor in Politics at the University of Lincoln, UK, and the editor of Central Asian Survey. His recent books include, among others, Party System Formation in Kazakhstan (2011), Nation-Building and Identity in the Post-Soviet Space (with A. Polese, 2016) and Politics: An Introduction, 3rd edition (with B. Axford, V. Browne and R. Huggins, 2018), also published by Routledge. Erica Marat is Associate Professor at the College of International Security Affairs at the National Defence University, Washington, D.C. Her research focuses on violence, mobilisation and security institutions in Eurasia, India and Mexico. She is also the author of The Politics of Police Reform: Society against the State in Post-Soviet Countries (2018).
