Religion and the Secular State in Central Asia: The Examples of Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan

This event marks the publication of two Silk Road Papers on the state-religion relationships in Central Asia, a study of Kyrgyzstan by Johan Engvall and one on Turkmenistan by Victoria Clement. This forms part of the ongoing research effort on secular governance, religion and politics at the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute & Silk Road Studies Program Joint Center, and follows the publication of studies on Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.
Johan Engvall’s study of Kyrgyzstan’s experience is timely given that country’s experience, starting with a more permissive atmosphere that subsequently aligned itself with policies in the rest of the region. Victoria Clement’s study of Turkmenistan is the first treatment of the subject to appear in print, and sheds light on the similarities of Turkmenistan’s approach with the rest of Central Asia as well as its specificities.

Speakers:

Victoria Clement, Eurasia Regional Analyst, Center For Advanced Operational Culture Learning, Marine Corps University 
Johan Engvall, Senior Research Fellow, Foreign Policy Research Institute

Moderator: Svante E. Cornell, Director, Central Asia-Caucasus Institute at AFPC 

When: Monday, June 15, 2020 at 10am EDT

The event was live-streamed on our Facebook page and is now available on Youtube

 
Published in Forums & Events
Tuesday, 18 February 2020 00:00

A New Strategy for Central Asia

U.S. Central Asia policy has room to improve, but the Trump administration is steering things on the right track.

S. Frederick Starr and Svante Cornell
The Hill, Febuary 18, 2020

This month, the Trump administration released its strategy for Central Asia. This marks the first time in more than two decades that the United States has come up with a serious approach to a region where vast economic, geopolitical, and civilizational stakes are at issue. It follows visits by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, the first trip to the region by someone in that role in half a decade.

Long seen as a stagnant land of Soviet holdovers, Central Asia has been undergoing a dramatic transition led by its two most powerful countries, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. Leaders in both countries have plunged into meaningful domestic reforms that are now focused on expanding citizen rights, governmental responsiveness, and the rule of law. They have also taken some important steps toward establishing their own structures for regional cooperation, a process that could result in a kind of Central Asian version of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

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Published in Staff Publications
Tuesday, 29 October 2019 18:39

Azerbaijan: Reform Behind A Static Facade

Ilham

 THE AMERICAN INTEREST

By Svante E. Cornell

October 17, 2019

Oil-rich Azerbaijan is undergoing a major process of top-down modernization. Here’s why the reforms are happening now—and why Washington should take an interest.

Published in Staff Publications

CACI and CSIS Russia and Eurasia Program cordially invites you to

Tokayev’s Kazakhstan: A New Reform Agenda

 

This year’s transition of power in Kazakhstan marks a turning point for Kazakhstan and the Central Asian region as a whole. Following the resignation of Kazakhstan’s First President, Nursultan Nazarbayev, long-time Senate Speaker, former Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Kassymjomart Tokayev won a June 2019 snap presidential election. Nazarbayev maintains a central role including chairing the National Security Council, and recently gained additional influence over personnel appointments. While Tokayev has pledged continuity with Nazarbayev’s legacy, his September address to the nation also indicated a new urge for political reform, including what Tokayev labeled the “Listening State.” 

The CSIS and Central Asia-Caucasus Institute invite you to a discussion with leading Kazakh analysts, who will provide their perspectives on Kazakhstan’s direction under President Tokayev.


Please join us for a discussion with

Askar Nursha

Dean, School of Public Policy and Law, Almaty Management University

and 

Shavkat Sabirov

Director, Institute for Security and Cooperation in Central Asia

Introductions by

Frederick Starr

Chairman of the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute and Silk Road Studies Program


Moderated by

Jeffrey Mankoff

Senior Fellow, Russia and Eurasia Program, CSIS
 

Friday, November 1, 2019

1:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.

2nd Floor Conference Room
Center for Strategic & International Studies
1616 Rhode Island Ave NW, Washington, D.C. 20036
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Published in Forums & Events
  • President Tokayev seeks to "maintain continuity" yet nonetheless calls for "systemic reforms." He appears to mean both.
  • In the effort to engage society more deeply in governance, Kazakhstan will institute and seek to manage reforms from above.
  • In continuing the principle of balance in its foreign policy, which Tokayev invented two decades ago, Kazakhstan will seek increased engagement and investment from the West.

By S. Frederick Starr

September 17, 2019

Published in Staff Publications

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