New Eastern Europe Magazine NovemberDecember17 Edizione posteriore

Central Asia is an ethnically, geographically and culturally diverse region, covering a similar land mass as the European Union. Yet, it remains one of the least familiar to the general public in the West. An important region in its own right, located in a volatile geopolitical area between Russia, China, Afghanistan and Iran, the five states of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan rarely make headlines in the mainstream media. Owing to this neglect the region has fallen victim to orientalist clichés, presenting it as a spacious blank steppe dividing the big players or as a collection of post-Soviet artificial entities devoid of agency in international relations.

In this issue we seek to confront that trend by showing Central Asian as players in the international arena with complex societies facing different internal and external dilemmas. While it is true that authoritarian tendencies, poor economic performance and Islam have been common features uniting the five states, the reality on the ground is much more complex. The issue takes on the well-worn new Great Game narrative to show that the exhausted metaphor has been little more than a misused stereotype. We also look at the unique nation building experiences of Central Asian countries following the collapse of the Soviet Union and how the respective societies have built their understanding of democracy.

We could not have overlooked the worrying authoritarian tendencies in the region. Our authors address the serious human rights situation in Turkmenistan and how the authoritarian regime in Tajikistan is using anti-religion laws to tighten its control over the population.

At the end of the issue, we have prepared a special section in memory of the 40th anniversary of Charter 77 – a human rights initiative by Czechoslovak opposition groups. We look at the legacy of the endeavour for Polish-Czech relations as well as the characteristics of both societies across generations.