Last week, I posted critical thinking from the blogosphere on the metaphors commonly used when discussing Afghanistan. Now I want to contribute my own two cents on a common metaphor used in Central Asia: The New Great Game. The N.G.G. is a term that now stands for more than one aspect of Central Asian affairs, which has confused the set of […]
Russia is accusing the US of tying strings to its accession to the Asian Development Bank, saying that the US expects Russia to complete debt write-offs to Afghanistan and Iraq before it will sponsor its ADB membership. This new development ostensibly arrived during the ADB meeting in Kyoto earlier this month, RIA Novosti reported. Japan […]
Russia's Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) is planning new military contingency plans in Central Asia, according to today's Ria Novosti article. The CSTO military activities include anti-terror military training exercises.
As Nathan Hamm at registan.net reminded me, today marks the second aniversary of the Andijan Massacre. Central Asia watchers know that this horrific event has intensified the conduct of internal control within Uzbekistan, and changed diplomatic discourse regarding Central Asia ever since. Andijan's heroine is Mahbuba Zokirova, the lone witness in the Andijan trials to contradict the […]
Yesterday, I attended the Third Annual Sakip Sabanci lecture at The Brookings Institution, a joint presentation of Sabanci University and Brookings. The lecture series is devoted to developing scholarship concerning Turkey's relationships in the international system. The speaker was former Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, who has been involved in U.S. diplomatic efforts since at least the Vietnam War, through […]
US diplomacy in the developing world has often failed to capitalize on its full array of experience with national development. State and nation-building literature focuses upon the present, but the past reveals how the US accomplished its own nation-building–and how supremely difficult this 200-plus year project has been. I’m talking about the Wild West. Go ahead and laugh, because a. this will probably […]
Notes from the blogosphere: In April, I collected four posts from three blogs that take apart conventional metaphors and assumptions, either in a large way or small. These phrases have taken on the ring of tired, unhappy, and uninteresting truth–but may not be true. Their constant repetition has led to hopelessness and apathy. Yet the issues these […]
Tajikistan's President Rahmon has been visiting Iran as head of his country's economic delegation. It appears to have been a fruitful meeting for both sides: Transportation and Energy: New initiatives on land, rail, and air transport were agreed upon between the two countries. This is extremely important news, as transport via Uzbekistan for Tajikistan's commerce […]
According to BBC, journalist Umida Niyazova has had her sentence lifted because she has changed her trial plea from ‘not guilty’ to guilty, and because the judge had compassion over separating a mother from her 2-year-old boy. She recanted her association with human rights groups and others, citing ‘undue influence from her environment’. I remain grateful for her brilliant work through discouraging […]
The daughter of former President Akaev, Bermet Akaeva, was interrogated again on May 5th for 4 hours–between 10 am and 2 pm. This curious scheduling information is related to Ms. Akaeva's previous interrogation, which put her into the hospital, and lasted until after 10pm at night. Following the interrogation, Ms. Akaeva has been put under house […]
Yes, trade can drive on in where pastors fear to tread: Edmund's, a trade group following the auto industry, reports that auto manufacturer GM-Daewoo has bought into the UZ-Daewoo plant in Asaka, a city in the Andijan region of Uzbekistan. The article continues with a fine and high disregard for previous asset expropriation of foreign business, including […]
My colleague Bill Hewitt at the FPA Climate Change Blog has posted an overview of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) activities over the last week in Bangkok, Thailand. The bad news is no news: he isn't forecasting universally useful political agreement, with critical states dragging their feet (uh, that would be the U.S., […]
I am still studying agricultural policies for my follow-up on the Green Revolution, ignored–but in the meantime, a juxtaposition of two recent articles: A. IWPR reports that several cotton farmers are facing criminal charges for failing to cultivate cotton and growing fruits and vegetables instead–crops for which they can be paid in currency at market value. […]
Xinhuanet reports that effective May 1, 2007, Uzbekistan's citizens may no longer purchase alcoholic beverages without a permit. New zoning restrictions have also gone into effect. The license may be purchased from local administrative departments. The measure is designed to protect public health. Failure to comply, the article states, will result in a fine and […]
I found this Central Asia album book in my favorite used bookstore. Original publishing date: Glasnost. Magown, Robin (text) and Gippenreiter, Vadim (photos). Fabled Cities of Central Asia: Samarkand-Bukhara-Khiva. New York: Abbeville Press, 1989. This is not the first old book I have become enchanted with, nor will it be the last. My all-time favorite […]