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Der Regierungssturz von 2020 in Kirgistan reiht sich ein in eine Reihe von Revolutionen im Land, welche keine tatsächlichen politischen Veränderungen bewirkt haben. Warum sind sich scheinbar alle Kommentator:innen einig, dass die Revolution "den Frauen und jungen Menschen gestohlen wurde"? Und welche Folgen hat es, wenn junge Menschen den Glauben daran verlieren, dass sich an den Machtverhältnissen in ihrem Land etwas ändern lässt? Es wird argumentiert, dass es progressive Bewegungen in Kirgistan nach den jeweiligen Revolutionen bisher nicht vermocht haben, sich eine von den etablierten Eliten unabhängige Machtbasis aufzubauen. Etablierte Eliten wiederum konsolidieren ihre eigene Machtbasis, in dem sie Teile von progressiven Bewegungen in den informellen Regierungskomplex einbinden. Hierdurch werden diese in korrupte staatliche Strukturen integriert, deren Überwindung das ursprüngliche Ziel vorangegangener Revolutionen war.

The objective of this paper is to explore the political implications of the Covid-19 pandemic in the Central Asian countries of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan. Studies displayed that although these governments varied in their initial response to the pandemic, all three underwent a uniform experience as to its broader effect of amplified authoritarianism. The public health crisis was utilized as a pretext to consolidate autocratic power, suppress regime criticism, and restrict the political rights and freedoms of citizens. Of particular concern were implications on media and civil society organizational efforts, statuses of detainees, ethnic minority rights, and freedoms of assembly and speech. This paper is an in-depth case analysis that uses policy analysis and process tracing to examine the Central Asian countries’ response to Covid-19 and its effects on human rights and political freedoms in the named countries. It concludes that despite the changes in leadership and relative progress towards democratization, authoritarian patterns ensued and changed form during the pandemic period in these Central Asian countries.

In Kirgistan haben islamische Organisationen und islamischer Aktivismus - vor allem der von Frauen - in den letzten Jahren zunehmend an Bedeutung gewonnen. Dieser neue Einfluss muslimischer Frauen und ihrer Organisationen kann in unterschiedlichen Bereichen, von wohltätiger Arbeit bis Mode, online wie offline, beobachtet werden. Obwohl islamische Organisationen, die von Frauen geführt werden, mittlerweile etablierte Akteure der kirgisischen Zivilgesellschaft sind, wird ihre zentrale Rolle außerhalb muslimischer Kontexte noch immer verkannt. Der Beitrag untersucht, wie sich der islamische Aktivismus von Frauen vor dem Hintergrund der digitalen Revolution und der Verbreitung sozialer Medien als neuer Quelle religiöser Bildung weiterentwickelt.

Durch ein Verfassungsreferendum im Jahr 2010 wurde die Koalition in Artikel 70(3) als Instrument des kirgisischen Parlamentes (Dschogorku Kenesch) zur Mehrheitsfindung kodifiziert. Bei keiner absoluten Mehrheit für eine Partei bestand seitdem der Zwang zur Koalitionsbildung, was die Fraktionen als zentrale Akteure parlamentarischer Prozesse etablierte. Der Beitrag analysiert für den Zeitraum zwischen 2010 und 2020 interne Strukturen kirgisischer Koalitionen und ihre Auswirkungen auf die Stabilität des jungen Parlamentarismus, dem mit der Machtergreifung Sadyr Dschaparows und der Rückkehr zu einem präsidialen Regierungssystem 2021 ein Ende gesetzt wurde.

Afghanistan's Central Asian neighbours have generally reacted pragmatically to the Taliban's seizure of power there. For the autocratically ruled, secular states on the periphery of the former Soviet empire, economic cooperation and the stabilisation of humanitarian and political conditions in Afghanistan are at the forefront of their interests in maintaining relations with their southern neighbour. According to offi­cial discourse, Central Asia's entrenched secularism is not challenged by the Taliban's Islamism. On social media in Central Asia, however, the Islamic emirate of the Taliban is portrayed as a political counter-model; one which is more positively received in coun­tries with greater discursive freedom and under governments whose policies more openly confront the Taliban. This reveals a trend towards Islamist-inspired iden­tity formation that will be difficult to stop through censorship and repression. (author's abstract)

Auf die Machtübernahme der Taliban haben die zentralasiatischen Nachbarn Afgha­nistans überwiegend pragmatisch reagiert. Für die autokratisch regierten, säkularen Staaten an der Peripherie des ehemaligen sowjetischen Imperiums stehen die wirt­schaftliche Zusammenarbeit mit dem südlichen Nachbarn und eine dafür notwendige rasche Stabilisierung der humanitären und politischen Verhältnisse im Vordergrund des Interesses. Folgt man offiziellen Darstellungen, so wird Zentralasiens gefestigte Säkularität durch den Islamismus der Taliban nicht herausgefordert. In den sozialen Medien zentralasiatischer Länder dagegen erscheint das islamische Emirat der Tali­ban als politisches Gegenmodell, dessen Bewertung umso positiver ausfällt, je größer die diskursiven Freiräume in den einzelnen Staaten sind und je offener die Regierungs­politik selbst den Taliban begegnet. Dies offen­bart einen Trend hin zu islamistisch inspirierten Identitätsbildungen, den Zensur und Repression kaum aufhalten werden. (Autorenreferat)

In an attempt to address the debate among social science scholars regarding whether or not online political engagement is a legitimate form of political participation and exercise of transnational citizenship, this study investigates the conditions under which migrants engage politically with virtual communities; when and how online participation spills over to real-world social mobilization; and whether cross-border online-offline political participation creates a new form of transnational citizenship. Content analysis of virtual social media groups and pages on VKontakte, Odnoklassniki and Facebook demonstrates that, although migrants are not likely to routinely participate in, initiate, or continuously engage with political conversations on these platforms, crisis conditions, such as the October revolution in 2020, the first COVID wave the summer of that same year, and the Kyrgyz-Tajik border conflict in April-May 2021, trigger bursts of political activism on social media which carry over to the real-world in the form of fundraising and protest mobilization.

Do ethnic riots affect prosocial behavior? A common view among scholars of ethnic violence is that riots increase cooperation within the warring groups, while cooperation across groups is reduced. We revisit this hypothesis by studying the aftermath of the 2010 Osh riot in Kyrgyzstan, which saw Kyrgyz from outside the city kill over 400 Uzbeks. We implement a representative survey, which includes unobtrusive experimental measures of prosocial behavior. Our causal identification strategy exploits variation in the distance of neighborhoods to armored military vehicles, which were instrumental in orchestrating the riot. We find that victimized neighborhoods show substantially lower levels of prosocial behavior. Importantly, we demonstrate that the reduction is similarly stark both within and across groups. Using qualitative interviews, we parse out two mechanisms that help explain the surprising reduction in ingroup prosociality: Victimized Uzbeks felt abandoned by their coethnics, and variation in victimization created a feeling of suspicion.

Digitalised music production and the rise of music streaming platforms shape music markets worldwide. Whereas in Western Europe and North America, the age of streaming has also been criticised for a casualisation of musical labour, in peripheral music economies like Kyrgyzstan it participates in structuring a market for music makers. At the same time, digitalisation also tends to reproduce global inequalities. Based on the case of hip-hop music production in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, the present working paper examines how the 'age of streaming' affects the musical production and the dreams and ambitions of music workers.

For many years, scholars and practitioners have been struggling with problems of local ownership in international organizations-led peacebuilding. Despite the discourse surrounding giving ownership to local communities, top-down approaches prevail in practice and often lead to counterproductive outcomes. Ethnographic fieldwork has proven that international organizsations could achieve a better understanding of local experiential perspectives on conflict and peace. Here, we point to key features of local peace and suggest how international organizations could better incorporate peaceful local agency, cope with power imbalances and advance strategies for peacebuilding from the ground up.

This policy brief maps how Russia intentionally and unintentionally influences Kyrgyz politics, economy, society and culture, while exploring what challenges this influence might pose for the Kyrgyz government if it is left unchecked and unaddressed, and provides recommendations on how Kyrgyz policy makers could address these challenges. In particular, three key challenges are identified. First, the Kyrgyz Republic demonstrates a strong path dependence in its decision and policy making. While 2021 marks the 30th anniversary of the country’s independence, Kyrgyz policy makers continue the course of their Soviet predecessors, who largely depended on Moscow to design and implement legislation and policies. In the independent Kyrgyz Republic, this practice borders on state-level plagiarism. Second, there is a challenge of overwhelming dependence on Russia. Kyrgyz financial, economic, military and security dependence on Russia is conditioned by the Kyrgyz Republic's economic and geopolitical position. However, this dependence is excessive and serves neither Kyrgyz nor Russian long-term interests. Finally, the Kyrgyz leadership needs to understand, take stock and make the most of Russia's soft power instruments in the country. Using soft power in third countries has become a conventional foreign policy tool to pursue the national interests and global aspirations of soft-power superpowers. Russia's use of soft power is more defined and assertive than it has been, which calls for a shift of long-term strategic thinking on the Kyrgyz side.

Die Präsidentschaftswahlen vom 10. Januar 2021 und das damit verbundene Ver­fassungsplebiszit sind das Ergebnis einer von Gewalt begleiteten Dynamik, die Kir­gistan seit Oktober 2020 in Atem hält. Mit der Wahl des Populisten Sadyr Japarov zum Präsidenten und der Zustimmung zu der von ihm forcierten Wiedereinführung eines Präsidialsystems wird der Weg bereitet für einen Abbau demokratischer und rechtsstaatlicher Prinzipien, mit dem sich Kirgistan den politischen Verhältnissen in den zentralasiatischen Nachbarstaaten annähert. Eine neue Verfassung ist in Vor­bereitung. Der Entwurf trägt die Handschrift von Akteuren, die eine Pfadumkehr unter neo-traditionalen Vorzeichen anstreben. Er düpiert eine junge Generation politischer Kräfte, die für mehr Demokratie und Rechtsstaatlichkeit eintreten, und ist geeignet, das Land anhaltend zu polarisieren. (Autorenreferat)

Environmental disasters and climate induced challenges heavily impact people’s livelihoods, especially those in the poorest segments of society who lack the adaptive resources and capabilities to respond accordingly. Despite the ever-growing importance of the nexus between climate change, the environment, and migration, this topic remains largely understudied in Kyrgyzstan. Climate induced (drought, abnormal rainfall, early frost) and fast-onset (mudflow, flood, landslide) and slow-onset (land degradation, soil erosion, etc.) environmental disasters have direct and indirect impacts on migration, all of which serve as drivers for rural outmigration. Due to limited working opportunities and a lack of adaptive capacity to environmental change in rural areas, many choose to migrate to internal urban centers or abroad. Based on qualitative research conducted in two villages of Batken and Naryn provinces in Kyrgyzstan, we found that a lack of insurance mechanisms, high rates of bank and informal loans, and insufficient social support from the government make it difficult for many of the poorest to respond to environmental shocks when they happen. The migration strategy helps rural households to react and respond to shocks and for some it is their only option. For such households, remittances play a crucial role by helping to cover vital household expenses. Therefore, migration serves as a coping strategy to overcome environmental, social, and economic difficulties and as an adaptation strategy by generally leading to more resilient livelihoods and long-term investments.

This paper explores the state of minority rights in the three Central Asian countries of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan. These countries share a lot of similarities in terms of their post-Soviet authoritarian legacy and weakness of democratic institutions. The repressive political landscapes of the Central Asian states have taken their tolls on minority groups, leaving them discriminated against, mistreated, and severely disadvantaged. Minority rights violations range from ethnic and religious discrimination to state-sponsored homophobia. Even though the leadership changes have positively affected the state of human rights in the three countries, there is still a slow pace of reforms. Overall, domestic changes in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan have not yielded considerable results so far in terms of alleviating the plight of minority groups across these countries.

Kyrgyzstan's presidential election and constitutional referendum on 10 January 2021 represent the provisional endpoint of a series of violent episodes that has gripped the country since October 2020. The victory of the populist Sadyr Japarov and approval for his plan to reintroduce a presidential system of government prepares the ground for a dismantling of democratic principles and rule of law, so that politically Kyrgyz­stan is set to look more like its Central Asian neighbours. A new constitution is in preparation. The draft bears the portents of a neo-traditional roll-back that rebuffs a young generation demanding more democracy and rule of law, and has the potential to deeply polarise the nation. (author's abstract)

Ever since its announce­ment in 2013, China's "Belt and Road Initiative" (BRI) has attracted significant attention from inter­national observers, covering its impact on fields ranging from economic integration to geo­politics. However, the peace and security impli­cations of the BRI have seen comparatively little interest, despite the heavy concentra­tion of BRI-related invest­ments in highly fragile and conflict-­prone environ­ments. This report focuses on BRI projects and their trans­formative impact on conflict dynamics in four of these countries: Pakistan, Myanmar, Kyrgyzstan and Uganda. It also provides some practical suggestions for improving local outcomes and strengthen­ing inter­national co­operation.

Ever since its announce­ment in 2013, China's "Belt and Road Initiative" (BRI) has attracted significant attention from inter­national observers, covering its impact on fields ranging from economic integration to geo­politics. However, the peace and security impli­cations of the BRI have seen comparatively little interest, despite the heavy concentra­tion of BRI-related invest­ments in highly fragile and conflict-­prone environ­ments. This report focuses on BRI projects and their trans­formative impact on conflict dynamics in four of these countries: Pakistan, Myanmar, Kyrgyzstan and Uganda. It also provides some practical suggestions for improving local outcomes and strengthen­ing inter­national co­operation.

Das Engagement der Europäischen Union (EU) in den Ländern Zentralasiens (Kasachstan, Kirgistan, Tadschikistan, Turkmenistan, Usbe­kistan) erhält neuen Schwung: durch die Neuauflage der EU-Zentralasienstrategie 2019 und die EU-Asien-Konnektivi­täts­strategie aus dem Jahr 2018. Einen Schwerpunkt bildet die Koope­ration zu nach­haltiger Entwicklung. Die Förderung wirtschaftlicher, sozialer und ökologischer Nach­haltigkeit ist prinzipiell sinnvoll, weil es hier bei den Interessen der EU und der Regie­rungen vor Ort Überschneidungen gibt; außerdem können unmittelbare Vor­teile für die Bevölkerung erzielt werden. Insbesondere die autoritären Staaten Zentral­asiens sind dabei allerdings mit Dilemmata konfrontiert. Zwar können sie davon pro­fitieren, wenn Nachhaltigkeit gefördert wird, fürchten aber eine damit einher­gehende Politi­sierung ökologischer und sozialer Fragen und dadurch entstehende Proteste. Zudem schrecken sie vor umfassenden Strukturreformen zurück und befürchten Wachs­tums­einbußen. Bei der Projektplanung sollte die EU deshalb einen Ansatz wählen, der anhand konkreter Projekte aus unterschiedlichen Politikfeldern demonstriert, wie Nachhaltigkeitsziele partizipativ erreicht und Beschäftigung geschaffen werden kann. (Autorenreferat)

Hundreds of thousands of Kyrgyz labour migrants seek opportunities in Russia where they fall target to retaliation of vigilante citizens who find offence in the presence of alien labourers in their homeland. Vigilantism also takes place within this migrant ‘community’ where male Kyrgyz labour migrants engage in retaliation on female migrants over perceived offences such as dating non-Kyrgyz men. On several occasions between 2011 and 2016 videos featuring honour beating of female labour migrants by fellow countrymen shook the internet. The selected case illustrates vulnerabilities experienced by migrants due to xenophobia and hostility of the host state, as well as additional layers of vulnerabilities linked to gendered biases that ‘travel’ across borders along with compatriots in migration. The study argues that offline structures, norms, biases, violence, and stigma not only reincarnate online, where they culminate in vigilante acts, but consequently, they re-enter the offline discourse and go through further normalization and justification.

Most people associated the collapse of the Soviet Union and the subsequent phase of transformation with the hopes of an improvement in the ecological situation in the post-Soviet states. This article will take the example of walnut-fruit forests of South Kyrgyzstan that are unique in the world to demonstrate that current transformation processes can also constitute a danger for certain natural habitats. It will apply a scenario borrowed from political economy to analyse the change in players, interests and patterns of resource management and forest utilisation. The following factors crystallise as a threat to forests: the appearance of new players, the insecure economic situation of the local population and the erosion of the management institutions. The hallmark of the walnut-fruit forests is a major diversity of timbers and a variety of high-grade usable products. The centralised Soviet policy on forests devised detailed plans and forestry work for utilising the various forest products and protecting forests in their long-term existence. The governmental forestry operations ( leshoze ) implemented the forestry on the local level while forming the social centre of these settlements because they were the main employer. Since the Soviet Union collapsed, the political and socio-economic constraints have changed considerably, which has not only involved a change in forestry management, but also in the access rights and interests in the forest resources. At the present time, the region is suffering from high unemployment. That means that forests are increasingly important these days to the local population's strategy for survival since they supply food, animal feed and firewood. In addition, political and economic liberalisation along with enhanced communication and trade relations has opened forests up to representatives of international groups who are interested in the highly valued forest products. Today, rough timber and burls from walnut trees, walnuts, wild apples and morels are exported into a series of countries in the world. Scientists and members of international organisations stress the great ecological significance of these forests and the fact that they should be protected. Nevertheless, there are fears that the present processes of transformation and globalisation will stimulate a compounded and increasingly uncontrolled utilisation and exploitation of the forests, thus boosting their degradation. Mit dem Zusammenbruch der UdSSR und der anschließenden Transformationsphase ist meist die Hoffnung auf eine Verbesserung der Umweltsituation in den postsowjetischen Staaten verbunden. Am Beispiel der weltweit einmaligen Walnuss-Wildobst-Wälder Südkirgistans wird gezeigt, dass aktuelle Transformationsprozesse jedoch auch eine Gefahr für bestimmte Naturräume darstellen können. Unter Anwendung eines an die Politische Ökologie angelehnten Ansatzes wird der Wandel von Akteuren, Interessen sowie Mustern des Ressourcenmanagements und der Waldnutzung analysiert. Dabei kristallisieren sich folgende Faktoren als Bedrohung für die Wälder heraus: das Auftreten neuer Akteure, die unsichere wirtschaftliche Situation der lokalen Bevölkerung sowie die Erosion der Managementinstitutionen. Die Walnuss-Wildobst-Wälder sind gekennzeichnet durch eine große Gehölzdiversität mit einer Vielfalt hochwertiger nutzbarer Produkte. Die zentralistische sowjetische Forstpolitik entwickelte detaillierte Pläne und Forstmaßnahmen zur Nutzung der verschiedenen Waldprodukte sowie zur langfristigen Bestandssicherung der Wälder. Auf lokaler Ebene setzten staatliche Forstbetriebe (Leschoze) die Forstmaßnahmen um und bildeten als Hauptarbeitgeber gleichzeitig das gesellschaftliche Zentrum der entsprechenden Siedlungen. Seit dem Kollaps der Sowjetunion änderten sich die politischen und sozioökonomischen Rahmenbedingungen signifikant, was nicht nur einen Wandel des Forstmanagements sondern auch der Zugangsrechte und Interessen an den Waldressourcen mit sich brachte. Gegenwärtig leidet die Region unter einer hohen Arbeitslosigkeit mit der Folge, dass den Wäldern heute als Lieferant von Nahrungsmitteln, Viehfutter und Brennholz eine gewachsene Bedeutung innerhalb der Lebensunterhaltsstrategien der lokalen Bevölkerung zukommt. Die politische und wirtschaftliche Liberalisierung sowie die verbesserten Kommunikations- und Handelsbeziehungen öffneten zudem die Tore für Vertreter internationaler Konzerne, die an den wertvollen Waldprodukten interessiert sind. Heute werden Stammholz und Maserknollen von Walnussbäumen sowie Walnüsse, Wildäpfel und Morcheln in verschiedene Länder der Erde exportiert. Dagegen betonen Wissenschaftler und Mitglieder internationaler Organisationen die große ökologische Bedeutung und Schutzwürdigkeit der Wälder. Dennoch ist zu befürchten, dass die gegenwärtigen Transformations- und Globalisierungsprozesse dazu führen, dass eine intensivierte und zunehmend ungeregelte Nutzung und Ausbeutung der Wälder ihre Degradierung vorantreiben.

Introduction. The article presents the author’s interpretation of the Kyrgyz-Chinese cooperation within the framework of “One Belt – One Way” (OBOW) strategy. On the basis of the studied materials, the author analyzes positive and negative factors and problems of implementing “One Belt – One Way” project between the two countries. The researcher pays particular attention to the prospects of the project in creating favorable conditions for close economic ties between the regions of the two countries that lie along the Silk Road. Methods. The historical and legal, comparative and other methods form the theoretical and methodological basis of the article. The historiography of the issue – the consideration of Chinese “One Belt – One Way” strategy in the Kyrgyz Republic by foreign and Kyrgyz scientists and expert communities – is a direct object of the study. Analysis. The activity of the Chinese OBOW initiative should be considered in the context of the integration of the Kyrgyz Republic into the world community, thereby determining its place and role, its political and legal system. Many Western and Russian scientists believe that the main tool for promoting the Chinese strategy in relations with partners is the provision of loans, which cannot but cause concern and discussion around the OBOW project. The main debatable dominants in the analysis of facts and analytics are investment, trade and economic, transport and infrastructure directions, and mining industry. Results. The results of the study show that the potential areas for expanding the Chinese presence in Kyrgyzstan will remain transport and communications, mining, hydropower, etc. In Kyrgyzstan, the Chinese OBOW initiative is treated differently, there are a lot of positive and negative opinions concerning it. First, the OBOW project is perceived as a competitor to the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) in Eurasia. Second, the migration flows of Chinese citizens are increasing every year, the “Chinese demographic threat” is growing every year, and the people of Kyrgyzstan are concerned about this issue. Third, environmental safety, the safety of life and health of people, flora and fauna, the environment and others are also concerned. Fourth, the corruption of some Chinese companies creates a negative opinion of citizens.

In many countries around the world, civil society organizations are facing increasing restrictions that constrain their autonomy, capacity and/or freedom of action. While the general phenomenon of shrinking civic space and the adoption of legal restrictions in particular have become more widespread since the early 2000s, there are also cases in which governmental attempts to adopt restrictive NGO laws have been frustrated, aborted or, at least, significantly mitigated as a consequence of domestic and/or international resistance. This PRIF Report takes a look at four such cases (Azerbaijan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan and Zambia) and identifies conditions and dynamics that help understand successful resistance against legal civic space restrictions.

This study examines why some post-Soviet states are more peaceful than others. The analysis is conducted within the framework of a positivist, variable-based research design. The dependent variable is defined as the degree of peacefulness of the respective former Soviet Republics and measured by the Global Peace Index (investigation period: 2008-2017; Baltics excluded). Based on theoretical references, four independent variables are selected: (1) degree of democratization, (2) level of corruption, (3) stage of development, and (4) degree trade openness. The expected causal relationship between the explanatory factors and the phenomenon to be explained is formulated in the form of hypotheses: H 1: The higher the degree of democratization, the higher the degree of peacefulness (cases: Moldova; Turkmenistan). H 2: The lower the degree of corruption, the higher the degree of peacefulness (cases: Georgia; Turkmenistan). H 3: The higher the stage of development, the higher the degree of peacefulness (cases: Russia; Tajikistan). H 4: The higher the degree of trade openness, the higher the degree of peacefulness (cases: Kyrgyzstan; Russia). The ambivalent results of the empirical study suggest that none of the influencing factors can sufficiently explain the varying degrees of peacefulness of the post-Soviet countries.