Central Asia in the era of sovereignty: the return of Tamerlane?
Abstract
The five central Asian states inherited their independence from the Soviet Union, but never fought for it. After almost three decades of statebuilding, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan could not be more different in their political and economic development, as well as in their governance regimes. Their divergent development is well illustrated in the volume under review, edited by Daniel Burghart and Theresa Sabonis-Helf. The contributors illustrate each country's development from different perspectives. The book will be of special interest to scholars of central Asian studies who are intrigued by the region's new role in world politics created by China's ‘belt and road initiative’ (BRI) and resurgent Russian hegemony. Central Asians' foreign and development policies are de facto determined by China's development politics and Russia's security and hegemonic interests. The contributors also give a terrific overview of developments in the region over the past three decades. They highlight a...