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2021 | Book

Neopatrimonialism, Power and Regimes in Central Asia: A Sociology of Power Analysis Read chapter Read first chapter

Political Regimes and Neopatrimonialism in Central Asia

A Sociology of Power Perspective

Editors: Dr. Ferran Izquierdo-Brichs, Dr. Francesc Serra-Massansalvador

Publisher: Springer Singapore

Book Series : The Steppe and Beyond: Studies on Central Asia

Part of: Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik" , Springer Professional "Wirtschaft" , Springer Professional "Technik"

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About this book

This book is aimed both at researchers and advanced students of Central Asia, the space of the former USSR, and the foreign policy of Russia and China. The authors adopt a sociological approach in understanding how power structures emerged in the wake of the Soviet collapse. The independencies in Central Asia did not happen as a consequence of a nationalist struggle, but because the USSR imploded. Thus, instead of the elites being replaced, the same Soviet elites who had competed for power in the previous system continued to do so in the new one, which they had to build, adapting themselves and the system to their needs. Additionally, unlike in the immense majority of the independent states that emerged from decolonization, the social movements and capacity to mobilize the people were very weak in the new Central Asian states. For this reason, the configuration of the new systems was the product of a competition for power between a very small number of elites who did not have to answer to the people and their demands. Thus, the new power regimes acquired a strong neopatrimonial component. Analyzing the structure of societies, economies and polities of post-socialist states, this book will be of great interest to scholars of Central Asia, to sociologists, and to scholars of China's rise.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter
Neopatrimonialism, Power and Regimes in Central Asia: A Sociology of Power Analysis
Abstract
Transitions towards democratic systems only begin and develop successfully if there is pressure from the population to drive them, because obviously the elites will never give up part of their powers or privileges for the sake of democracy. In Central Asia these mobilizations have generally been very weak, so the processes of accumulation of power in a few elites have been very powerful, building highly concentrated regimes of power, and political systems have acquired a neopatrimonial authoritarian character based on very few people who have managed to become powerful. The configuration of the new systems was the product of competition for power between a very limited number of elites who were not accountable to the population and its demands. In this introductory chapter we analyse these processes from the perspective of the Sociology of Power and Neopatrimonialism.
Ferran Izquierdo-Brichs
Russia’s Role in the Consolidation of the Central Asian Elites
Abstract
Three decades after the collapse of the Soviet Union, many questions still arise in the area. These questions affect not only the functioning and the future of the newly emerged independent republics, but even their own identity. The struggle between, on one hand, the cohesion of national states and, on the other hand, a strong identification with the Russian history and culture and the shared bonds, leads often to political clashes and social and cultural confusion. In this scenario, especially visible in Central Asia, the local elites have a strong influence. And Russia, as the regional leader and the center of that common historical space, keeps being the main reference in the area.
Francesc Serra-Massansalvador
China’s Belt and Road Initiative: Implications for Central Asia
Abstract
Launched in 2013 by President Xi Jinping, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) constitutes so far, the most complex, controversial, and far-reaching project put forth by a major power in the contemporary era. The BRI attempts to build an interconnected network of maritime and land-based economic routes, running from the Western Pacific to the Baltic Sea by putting forward “hard” and “soft” infrastructure projects. This chapter sheds light on the implications of the BRI in Central Asia by analyzing the economic, security, and political rationale driving the initiative in the region and exploring the linkages between the BRI and the agenda of Central Asian elites in terms of power consolidation and regime’s political stability.
Alejandra Peña
Uzbekistan’s Neopatrimonial State and Authoritarian Regime: From Karimov to Mirziyoyev
Abstract
This chapter is focused on analysing the processes and elements that have shaped the particular neopatrimonial and authoritarian nature of the Uzbek state, from its origins and early consolidation under Karimov to the transformations during Mirziyoyev’s presidency. These factors have predominantly developed in the domestic sphere, due to the high degree of autonomy from outside influence of Uzbek authorities and elite networks, compared to other Central Asian cases, such as Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan or Turkmenistan. This tendency may vary in the future, if the development strategy of “openness” started by President Mirziyoyev is finally consolidated.
Rubén Ruiz-Ramas, Javier Morales Hernández
Turkmenistan: Stability Through Regime Mobilisation
Abstract
Turkmenistan belongs to the countries where the democratisation (Huntington in The Third Wave: Democratization in the Late Twentieth Century. Oklahoma University Press, Oklahoma, 1991) and transition have led to the conservation of a Soviet system (McFaul in World Politics, 54: 212–244, 2002). The case of Turkmenistan showed that the discourse of transitology (popular in the 1990s and 2000s) could move in the reverse direction, i.e. towards a more authoritarian government (Carothers in Journal of Democracy, 13: 5–21, 2002).
Slavomír Horák
Tajikistan: From Reconciliation to Post-Reconciliation
Abstract
Like the other former Soviet countries profiled in this edited volume, Tajikistan experienced the challenges of state-building following an independence that was thrust upon the region’s leaders in 1991. Rather than transitioning towards democracy as Kyrgyzstan did, Tajikistan, like the other states in the region, with the exception of Kyrgyzstan, has become increasingly authoritarian, with informal, factional politics remaining central to the perseverance of authoritarian rule.
Edward Lemon, Flora Roberts
Kazakhstan 2.0: Change and Continuity?
Abstract
In 2019, Kazakhstan’s president Nursultan Nazarbayev surprised the world by voluntarily stepping down after almost thirty years in power to leave space for “a new generation of leaders.” Kazakhstan has become the success story of post-communist development in the region. Investors, domestic elites, and foreign leaders have been praising the stability of Nazarbayev’s neopatrimonial regime. Nazarbayev, however, is the first Central Asian leader who chose to step down from the presidency through a political tandem with the chairman of the Senate and second in line for the presidency, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. Despite the fact that Tokayev finds himself in a secondary role in Kazakhstan’s political system, he has taken some steps toward changing his image and has shown some controversial signs of liberalization. This chapter discusses the turbulent relationship between political elites and the opposition in Kazakhstan, following the analytical model of the Sociology of Power. It first presents the elites that control Kazakhstan, the competition that these elites face from abroad, and the most significant groups and leaders that can mobilize popular discontent. The focus then turns on the strategies that Kazakh elites used to maintain power and the prospects of Kazakhstan’s transition.
Sofia Tipaldou
Kyrgyzstan and Intermingling of Elites: From a State of Enlightenment to a Shadow State
Abstract
Since independence, the ruling elite in Kyrgyzstan changed abruptly and almost violently three times: in the early 1990s, in 2005, and in 2010 (While today’s President of Kyrgyzstan, Sooronbai Jeenbekov was elected peacefully after the end of the term of President Atambayev, who was the first one to give up his power democratically, this article focuses on the regime change by violent action, i.e., revolution, coup d’etat, state disintegration, etc., as these changes had a tremendous impact on the state and society relations and the transformation of the state as such.). These events correspond to three changes of political power in the country, that is the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the coup d’état in 2005 that displaced President Askar Akayev, and the coup d’état in 2010 resulting in the displacement of President Kurmanbek Bakiyev.
Viktoria Akchurina
Correction to: Political Regimes and Neopatrimonialism in Central Asia
Ferran Izquierdo-Brichs, Francesc Serra-Massansalvador
Backmatter
Metadata
Title
Political Regimes and Neopatrimonialism in Central Asia
Editors
Dr. Ferran Izquierdo-Brichs
Dr. Francesc Serra-Massansalvador
Copyright Year
2021
Publisher
Springer Singapore
Electronic ISBN
978-981-15-9093-1
Print ISBN
978-981-15-9092-4
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-9093-1