LECTURE- National Ideology and State-building in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan

Distrib. by: Central-Eurasia-L - Announcement List for Central Eurasian Studies

LECTURE- National Ideology and State-building in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan

Posted by: Social Research Center" <src@mail.auca.kg>

The Social Research Center of the American University of Central Asia

presents:

LECTURE: National Ideology and State-building in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan

SPEAKER: Dr. Erica Marat, Research Fellow at the Institute for Security and
Development Policy in Stockholm and Central Asia-Caucasus Institute, the
Johns Hopkins University, Washington, DC.

Time: 17.00, April 23rd, 2008

Venue: 315, AUCA (Main Building)

Language: English (Translation into Russian will be provided ONLY if
requested in advance)

Abstract: This lecture is based on the study focusing on the production of
national ideologies in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan since 1991. The main
argument of the study postulates that state-promulgated ideological projects
do not necessarily increase the popularity or effectiveness of incumbent
regimes, but they do allow the consolidation of state power in the interests
of the ruling elites. The process of ideological production and promotion
increased the loyalty of primarily state actors at various levels: from top
political elites to the local government- all of who were responsible for
disseminating ideologies among the masses. The study illustrates how Kyrgyz
and Tajik political leaderships promoted state ideologies vigorously before
presidential elections. The celebration of national historical events, such
as the Manas's anniversary in Kyrgyzstan and the Aryan civilization in
Tajikistan, allowed the incumbent regimes to mobilize the entire public
sector under the banner of patriotism. Former Kyrgyz president Askar Akayev
and incumbent Tajik leader Emomali Rakhmon monopolized their interpretations
of national histories by suppressing or rejecting any possibility for public
debate over interpretations of histories and their meaning in the present
day reality. In this way, any attempt to question the correctness of the
regimes' interpretations of history was considered to be unpatriotic.

Biography: Dr. Erica Marat is a Research Fellow at the Institute for
Security and Development Policy in Stockholm and Central Asia - Caucasus
Institute at the Johns Hopkins University in Washington, DC. Dr. Marat
specializes in military institutions, state-building processes and organized
crime in Central Asia and beyond. She is an author of over 200 publications
at various policy and academic journals. A collection of her articles on
Kyrgyzstan was published as a book named Tulip Revolution: Kyrgyzstan a Year
Later. Dr. Marat is also a co-editor at the Journal of Power Institutions in
Post-Soviet Societies and guest editor at the China and Eurasia Forum
Quarterly. Previously she taught at the University of Bremen in Germany,
Uppsala University in Sweden, and Tajik-Slavic University in Tajikistan. She
is an AUCA 2001 alumnus from the department of Sociology, honored with magna
cum laude.

How to register: Please send RSVP to pss@mail.auca.kg with your name and
affiliation.

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