Central Asian Pol & Secur

This course surveys the politics and history of the five countries of contemporary Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan). In addition to imparting a substantive understanding of these countries, the course explores several conceptual lenses through which the region can be analyzed both over time and in comparison with other parts of the world. The first half of the course examines the political history of the region, with particular reference to how policies and practices of the Soviet state shaped the former republics of Soviet Central Asia. The second half turns to special topics at the center of the region’s political and social life today. Coverage of these topics—which include democratization, Islam and the politics of counter-insurgency, women and definitions of the public sphere, the politics of nation-building, and international security—will involve light reading from other regions to provide comparative perspective.