£26.00
Routledge Handbook of Central Asian Politics
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Book Description
Since achieving independence in 1991, the five states of Central Asia have increasingly gained geopolitical, economic and strategic significance. There are several reasons for the region’s rise in importance. Geographic location, at the intersection of Russia, South Asia, China and the Middle East, gives Central Asia a crucial role in the relationships between all these key regions. The Central Asian countries clearly recognize their new role in the world, and in the last decade have entered into strategic alliances. The impact of the region on the global energy supply and markets, due to some countries holding potentially vast pools of oil and natural gas, is well documented, and the forward positioning of armed forces by the United States and Russia in Central Asia highlight the strategic dimension in the “war on terror.”
The time period covered in the Handbook is contemporary, with a focus on the dynamics and causes behind current issues in the region. Central Asia here centres on the five former Soviet republics of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan. The book is structured around four general themes, which contain topically-focused chapters addressing the crucial components of each theme, across the five Central Asian states.
This academic Handbook, produced by experts on the region’s complex politics, fill a void in the existing literature. It is much needed to provide an in depth understanding of political issues in Central Asia.
Table of Contents
Introduction Part 1: Security and Stability 1. The Politicization of Islam 2. The Status of Minority Populations and Interethnic Conflict 3. Border Issues Between Central Asian States 4. Water Resources and Stability .e.g Military Power and Capacity Part 2: Development of Political Institutions and National Integration 5. Development of Institutions/Civil Society 6. Democratization of Political System 7. Construction of National Identity 8. Corruption, Patronage and Clan Politics 9. Role and Development of Media 10. Educational Reform Part 3: Issues in Political Economy 11. Economic Development and Political Issues 12. The Drug Trade 13. Human Trafficking and the Status of Women 14. Internal and External Migration 15. Environmental Degradation 16. Infrastructure and Communications Part 4: International Relations 17. Geopolitics and International Organizations 18. Relations with Russia 19. Relations with U.S. 20. Relations with South Asia (Afghanistan, Pakistan, India) 21. Relations with China 22. Relations with the EU 23. Geopolitics of Oil and Energy
Editor(s)
Biography
Reuel R. Hanks is Professor of Geography, Oklahoma State University, US. His research interests include religious/ethnic issues, political geography, economic development and policy in Central Asia. Since 1996, he has been the editor of the Journal of Central Asian Studies.
Dilshod Achilov is Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Massachusetts – Dartmouth, US. His research specializations include comparative and international politics, research methods, democratization, civil society, and political Islam.