PUBL.- Central Asia and the Caucasus, No. 1, 2008

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

PUBL.- Central Asia and the Caucasus, No. 1, 2008

Posted by: Murad Esenov <murad.esenov@worldmail.se>

Please find the contents of no. 1(49), 2008 of the 'Central Asia and the
Caucasus' journal (in English and Russian) below. The issue will be
published in late February.

CENTRAL ASIA AND THE CAUCASUS
Journal of Social and Political Studies
No. 1 (49), 2008

In this issue:

Elections and Power

Lasha Tchantouridze. On the Results of the Special Presidential Elections in
Georgia

Nation-Building

Rico Isaacs. Managing Dissent, Limiting Risk and Consolidating Power: the
Processes and Results of Constitutional Reform in Kazakhstan

Regional Centers of Power and Their Policy in Central Eurasia

Noor Omarov, Esen Usubaliev. The Regional Centers of Power: Is there a
Conflict of Interests, Ideological Cooperation, or a Conflict of Strategies
among Them in Central Asia?

Huseyn N. Najafov. Iran and the Southern Caucasus

Pavel Varbanets. Regional Centers of Power and Their Eurasian Politics
(Rivalry in the Islamic East - The Turkish Vector)

Guli Yuldasheva. Turkeys new Foreign Policy Landmarks and Central Asia

Irina Komissina. Will India Become a Full-Fledged Participant in the Big
Game in Central Asia?

Alexander Lukoianov. The Tehran Summit, or the Russian Presidents Visit to
Iran

Hydropower Potential: Regional Politics

Larisa Sidorova. Problems of the Joint Use of Transboundary Water Resources
in Central Asia
Timur Valamat-Zade. Tajikistan Energy Sector: Present and Near Future

Regional Politics

Marat Naribaev. The Republic of Kazakhstan and the Economic Cooperation
Organization: Present State and Future Cooperation

Murat Laumulin. Kazakhstan and Russia: Relations as Part of Russias Foreign
Policy Strategy

Kosimsho Iskandarov. Tajik-Afghan Interrelations Today and Their Future
Prospects

Religion in Society

Geoffrey F. Gresh. Promoting Prosperity: The Islamic Development Bank and
the Rise of Islamic Banking and Finance in Central Asia

Shukhrat Yovkochev. Islam and the Political and Socioeconomic Development
Model of the Muslim States

Migration and Ethnic Relations

Mamuka Komakhia. Georgias Ethnic History and the Present Migration
Processes

Elena Sadovskaya. Chinese Migration to Kazakhstan: Causes, Key Trends, and
Prospects

For your Information

The Special Feature section in the next issues will discuss:

- The GUAM Organization for Democracy and Economic Development in Regional
and International Dimensions
- Central Eurasia: Politics Today
- Energy Policy and Energy Projects in Central Eurasia

If you are interested to go into more details about the content of the
articles you may find all necessary information on our Internet home-page:
www.ca-c.org

or http://www.ca-c.org/journal-table-eng.shtml

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EVENT- Nowruz Celebration, March 18, CGIS South, 4:30-6:30

A distribution of: Central-Asia-Harvard-List. The Announcement List for
Central Eurasian Studies at Harvard University

EVENT- Nowruz Celebration, March 18, CGIS South, 4:30-6:30

Posted by: Program on Central Asia & the Caucasus <centasia@fas.harvard.edu>

Celebrate Nowruz

Come celebrate the Persian New Year and the beginning of Spring with
traditional food, drink and a cultural program...

March 18, 2008
4:30—6:30 pm

CGIS South Concourse
1730 Cambridge Street

This March, the Outreach Program, along with several other Harvard
organizations, will host a celebration of Nowruz. The Persian words
"now" and "ruz" literally mean "new day," and the celebration marks
the start of the new year for many people living in Eurasia. Nowruz
falls on the vernal equinox, a fine time for starting fresh, spring
cleaning, and of course, celebrating with dancing, singing, and
eating! We invite you to join us March 18 from 4:30-6:30 pm on the
CGIS South Concourse, 1730 Cambridge St, Cambridge. The celebration
will include an introduction to the holiday, perspectives on how it is
celebrated in different countries, a cultural program, and a delicious
selection of food.

Program Co-Sponsored by:

Outreach Program of the Davis Center for Russian & Eurasian Studies,
Outreach Center at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies, the Prince
Alwaleed bin Talal Islamic Studies Program, the Middle East Initiative
(HKS), Harvard Persian Society, and the Harvard Iranian Student
Association

For more information, write to cmesoc@fas.harvard.edu or call the
Outreach Center at 617-495-4078.

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PUBL.- Kyrgyzstan: A Photoethnography of Talas, Judith Beyer and Roman Knee

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PUBL.- Kyrgyzstan: A Photoethnography of Talas, Judith Beyer and Roman Knee

Posted by: Judith Beyer <beyer@eth.mpg.de>

Announcement - Book Publication

Judith Beyer and Roman Knee: Kirgistan. Ein ethnografischer Bildband
über Talas = Kyrgyzstan: A photoethnography of Talas. Hirmer Verlag, 2007

Hardcover: 224 pages
Publisher: Hirmer Verlag GmbH; Bilingual edition (March 2008)
Language: German and English
ISBN-10: 3777438057
ISBN-13: 978-3777438054
Product Dimensions: 11.6 x 9.3 x 0.8 inches
Shipping Weight: 3.1 pounds

How do people live in Kyrgyzstan today, and what are their everyday
lives like? This question is central to the present book, which the
authors Judith Beyer and Roman Knee call a photoethnography. Linking
ethnography (Greek ethnos = people; graphein = to describe) and
photography, they are attempting a new approach to communicating
culture. This photoethnography focuses on those areas of Kyrgyz
culture that are crucially important to the people and that help to
determine their daily lives. This includes their social contacts with
relatives, neighbors and friends, their economic activities, such as
cattle breeding and agriculture, and the various forms of social
organization in the villages and the region. This approach gives
readers the possibility of forming a new and clearer perspective for
looking at an unfamiliar culture: it is not the extraordinary, but the
everyday that is at the focus of this book.

The first section of the book starts with Manas, the mythical ancestor
figure. He is known as Manas Ata Father Manas in Talas, and the Kyrgyz
people themselves would begin an account of their history with him.
After this historical opening, which also includes texts on
petroglyphs and the Kyrgyz yurt, the authors go on to look at the
Talas region, life in the provincial capital and in the villages, and
at the province's special geographical and botanical features. The
main section of the book focuses on the people of the province and the
worlds they live in, often separated by age and gender. The conclusion
focuses on the lives of older people, on religion and sacred sites.
Thus this photoethnography starts and ends by considering ancestors: a
central cultural element for the Talas people. In this spirit, the
book's thematic sequence is based on the Talas people's understanding
of themselves.

The pictorial section is preceded by two introductory essays meant to
familiarize readers with both the cultural history and the
geographical features of Kyrgyzstan, and more particularly of the
Talas region (written by John Schoeberlein and Jörg Stadelbauer).

Judith Beyer, MA
Max-Planck-Institute for Social Anthropology
Project Group Legal Pluralism
Advokatenweg 36
06114 Halle (Saale)
beyer@eth.mpg.de
www.eth.mpg.de/people/beyer

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CONF.- Int'l Conference, Kazakh-German University, Almaty, Mar. 13-14

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

CONF.- Int'l Conference, Kazakh-German University, Almaty, Mar. 13-14

Posted by: Claudia Winkler claudia.winkler@cimonline.de

[This posting was delayed, for which we apologize. --CEL]

Kazakh-German University in Almaty / Kazakhstan announces its
5th International Conference, 13-14 March 2008
Topic: "The States of Central Asia: Possible ways of Modernization"

Kazakh-German University invites all interested people to join the audience
of the conference on Mach 13 and 14.
Over 50 Participants from all academic disciplines are going to hold
presentations and discuss their topics with the audience.
The conference aims at creating a lively exchange of ideas between
academics, professionals and students from all over Central Asia and Europe.

Keynote speeches will be among others given by
Dr. Volker Weichsel member of the editorial board
of "Osteuropa", a scholarly journal published by
German Association for East European Studies.

The conference comprises 4 sections:

First Section: "Economic social and political aspects of environmental
issues in Central Asia"
Central problem: How can emerging economies in Central Asia (especially
Kazakhstan) cope with ecological problems and establish environmental
standards in spite of their rapid economic development?

Second Section: "The process of political modernization"
Central problem: Modernization: a possible way to establish a new political
and democratic culture? - Chances and obstacles in Central Asian States.

Third Section: "The role of sciences, education and mass media in changing
popular culture and society"
Central problem: What is the role of those institutions in modernization?
What is their current level of development?

Fourth Section: "Integrational Processes in Central Asian Economies"
Central problem: Present problems concerning the transformation process of
Central Asian Economies and concerning the development of their financial
markets.

The conference is supported by Friedrich-Ebert-Foundation,
Gerda Henkel Foundation and Goethe-Institut of Kazakhstan.
A conference volume including all papers will be published after the event.

On the evening of March 13th, German author Dr. Volker Weichsel (Berlin)
will meet Kazakh political scientist and analyst Dosim Satpaiev for an open
discussion.

This event will be part of the International Conference and is hosted by
Goethe Institut Almaty. All interested people are invited to join the
audience at 7 on the evening of March 13th.

For further information on the programme of the International Conference in
Russian and German language, please refer to:
www.dku.kz

Contact information:

Kazakh-German University, Pushkin Str. 111/113, 050010 Almaty
Tel. +7 727 293 89 13, Fax: +7 727 293 90 01
Organisational committee:
Prof. Dr. oec. habil. Bodo Lochmann (Lecturer of German Academic
Exchange Service, DAAD)
Prof. Dr. Wolkowa Tamara, PhD Karpow Pawel, Selenskaja Olga (Faculty
of Social Sciences at Kazakh-German University)

Centrum für internationale Migration und Entwicklung (CIM);
Mendelssohnstraße 75-77; 60325 Frankfurt am Main; Germany

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PUBL.- Studies on Central Asia, Oriente Moderno

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PUBL.- Studies on Central Asia, Oriente Moderno

Posted by: Bahodir Pasilov <bpasilov@yahoo.com>

Theme: Publication
Posted by: Roberto Tottoli, Bahodir Pasilov
A special issue of studies on Central Asia "Oriente Moderno" was
recently published by Instituto Per L'Oriente (Institute of Oriental
Studies) in Italy in 2007. It has been edited by Roberto Tottoli
(University Napoli, Italy) and Bahodir Pasilov (Institute of History,
Academy Sciences of Uzbekistan). This special issue of the large
Italian magazine Oriento Moderno - Studies on Central Asia presents
current studies on Islam; it encompasses historical analyses as well
as contemporary religious studies and other socio-cultural issues
related to Islam that are important to the region. Social scientists,
archeologists, historians, philologists, ethnologists and
culturologists representing Central Asia are among the authors.

1. Saidakbar Agzamkhodjaev
The Formation and Socio-Political Activity of the Society "Shuroi Ulamo"
2. D. A. Alimova
Turkistan Djadidism and Islamic Reformism in Egypt: Points of Contact
3. B. Aminov
La Simbolique Musulmane
4. B. A. Baitanayev - U.A. Elgin
Islamic Architecture on the Territory of South Kazakhstan
5. Alexander Djumaev
Islam and Culture in the Context of the Central Asian Civilization
6. Aftandil Erkinov
Munadjat - Free "Religion", Ritual Shamanistic Song or Spiritual
Literature? (From The Genre History in Central Asia, 18th-19th
Centuries)
7. Aftandil Erkinov - Dilnavaz Yusupova
Olan - a Song for Weddings or Treatment? (Treatment Session with the
"Yar-Yar" Song in Tadjikistan in 2004)
8. Valery A. Germanov
Shia-Sunni Conflict of 1910 in the Bukhara Khanate
9. Shamsiddin S. Kamoliddin
New Data on the Biography of Ahmad Al-Yugnaki
10. R. G. Mukminova
The Role of Islam in Education in Central Asia in the 15th-17th Centuries
11. K. K. Radzhabov
Struggle for Independence in Turkistan and Muslim Clergy
12. R. N. Shigabdinov
Moduses of Islamic Socialism in Turkistan at the Beginning of the
20th Century (Supporters of the Idea and Bolsheviks' Temptation)
13. R. Suleimanov
On Relicts of Ancient Culture and Ideology in Islam in Central Asia
14. B. Pasilov - A. Ashirov
The Revival of Sufism Traditions in Contemporary Central Asia: Jahri
Zikr and Its Ethnographic Features
15. Shodmon Vohidov
Viewpoints of Muslim Authors on Russian Conquest of Turkistan:
Evolution of New Realias: Pro and Contra

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CONF.- ASN 2008 Preliminary Program Now Online!

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CONF.- ASN 2008 Preliminary Program Now Online!

Posted by: Dominique Arel <darel@uottawa.ca>

113 Panels, More Than 350 Papers on the Balkans, Central Europe,
Russia, Ukraine, the Caucasus, Eurasia, Turkey, China, and Nationalism Studies

The preliminary program of the ASN 2008 World Convention can now be
downloaded at www.nationalities.org. The Convention, sponsored by the
Harriman Institute, will be held at Columbia University, New York,
April 10-12, 2008.

Those interested in attending the convention are invited to register
in advance by accessing a registration form www.nationalities.org and
sending it to Convention Assistant Director Justin Gilstrap by
attachment (jlg2160@columbia.edu) or by postal mail at Harriman
Institute, Columbia University, 420 W 118th St., New York, NY 10027,
United States (tel. 212 854 8487). Only registration with payment will
be accepted.

The program features 113 panels, not yet including a dozen film
screenings to be announced later. As usual, the Convention boasts the
most international lineup of panelists of North American-based
conventions, with more than half of the 333 scholars, from more than
40 countries, who will be delivering papers currently based outside of
the United States. More than 700 panelists and participants are
expected at the convention.

The Convention will be hosting a record twelve special panels
featuring new major books by Will Kymlicka (Multicultural Odysseys,
Oxford 2007), Ben Kiernan (Blood and Soil: A World History of Genocide
and Extermination from Sparta to Darfur, Yale 2007), Jacques Sémelin
(Purify and Destroy: The Political Uses of Massacre and Genocide,
Columbia 2007), Omer Bartov (Erased: Vanishing Traces of Jewish Life
in Present-Day Galicia, Princeton 2007), Anthony Oberschall (Conflict
and Peace Building in Divided Societies, Routledge 2007), Pieter
Judson (Guardians of the Nation: Activists on the Language Frontiers
of Imperial Austria, Harvard 2007), Charles King (The Ghost of
Freedom: A History of the Caucasus, Oxford 2008), Jessica
Allina-Pisano (The Post-Soviet Potemkin Village, Cambridge 2007),
Adeeb Khalid (Islam after Communism: Religion and Politics in Central
Asia, California 2007), Juliette Cadiot (Le laboratoire impérial, CNRS
2007) and Evangelia Adamou (Le patrimoine plurilingue de la Grèce,
Peeters 2008).

Several of these book panels are part of the section "Theories of
Nationalism," now in its fifth year at the ASN Convention, which
offers a platform for the latest trends in nationalism studies
worldwide. Twelve more panels appear in the Nationalism section, such
as "Warfare and Violence," "The Dynamics and Institutional Effects of
Separatist Violence," and "Multiculturalism, Rights, and the Theory of
Justice".

As always, the Convention offers a strong lineup of panels in all
regions of the former Communist world and Eurasia: Russia, the
Caucasus, Central Asia/Turkey/China, the Balkans, Ukraine and Central
Europe. Every year, the Program Committee has to be more selective in
devising the lineup, due to the increasing number of proposals. The
Balkans lead the way with 20 panels, followed by Central Europe­19,
Eurasia and Turkey­with a combined 16 panels, Ukraine and Belarus­14,
and Russia and the Caucasus­11. Eleven panels appear in the "Thematic"
section. Special roundtables on the new international status of
Kosovo, the International Criminal Tribunal on the former Yugoslavia
(ICTY), the fate of the Orange Revolution, a dialogue between Armenian
and Azeri scholars over Nagorno-Karabakh, political scientists and
ethnography, as well as panels on the geopolitics of energy, EU
enlargement, and migration among the highlights of the program.

The Convention will also feature a film lineup, which will be announced later.

Since 2005, the ASN Convention is acknowledging excellence in graduate
studies research by offering Awards for Best Doctoral Papers in five
sections: Russia/Ukraine/Caucasus, Central Asia/Eurasia, Central
Europe, Balkans, and Nationalism Studies. The winners at the 2007
Convention were Connie Robinson (New School U, Sociology, Balkans) for
"Constructing Allies: The National Discourse of the Yugoslav
Committee", Zsuzsanna Magdo (U of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, History,
Central Europe) for "In Search of the True Hungarian", Judith Beyer
(Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology, Anthropology, Eurasia)
for "Imagining the State: How Perceptions of the State Influence
Customary Law in the Kyrgyz the Kyrgyz Aksakal Courts", Tammy Lynch
(Boston U, History, Ukraine) for "Building a Revolution: Elite Choice
and Opposition Tactics in Pre-Orange Ukraine" and Wendy Pearlman
(Harvard U, Political Science, Nationalism) for "The Nation in
Fragments: Internal Unity and Nationalist Conflict in Three
Palestinian Uprisings".

For practical information regarding the convention, please contact
Gordon Bardos (gnb12@columbia.edu, 212 854 8487). For information on
panels, please contact Dominique Arel (darel@uottawa.ca).

We look forward to seeing you at the convention!

Cordially,
Dominique Arel, ASN President
Gordon N Bardos, Convention Executive Director
Sherrill Stroschein, Program Chair
on behalf of the ASN Convention Organizing Committee

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GRANT- US Embassy Policy Specialist Program (EPS), IREX

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

GRANT- US Embassy Policy Specialist Program (EPS), IREX

Posted by: Daria Gelman <dgelman@irex.org>

IREX FELLOWSHIP – 2008-2009 US Embassy Policy Specialist (EPS) Program

IREX is pleased to announce the 2008-2009 competition of the US
Embassy Policy Specialist (EPS) Program.

The US Embassy Policy Specialist Program will allow fellows to travel
to Eurasia and serve the embassy as policy specialists on a chosen
topic and also pursue their own research project independently.
Fellowships are available to successful applicants who demonstrate how
their experience, skills, and knowledge will benefit US embassy
personnel, as well as the academic merit and feasibility of their
proposed research. Fellows will serve the embassy and conduct their
own research for up to eight weeks. Fellowship length and dates will
be decided upon in consultation with the specific embassy. Examples of
embassy service can include conducting field research, writing policy
papers, consulting embassy staff, and assisting with grant panels.

Fellows will be sponsored by IREX. Depending on the needs of the
individual embassy, fellows may spend all or part of the time on-site
at the embassy or work from a remote location in country. The EPS
Program provides fellowships for up to eight weeks to US postdoctoral
scholars and other graduate degree holders for independent or
collaborative research projects in Europe and Eurasia.

Eligible Embassies & Fields are:

Azerbaijan (Baku): Anthropology/ Sociology, Economics, Religion

Georgia (Tbilisi): Government

Kazakhstan (Astana): Inter-Ethnic Relations, Economics, Oil & Gas
Sector, Religion

Moldova (Chisinau): Conflict Resolution

Russia (Vladivostok): Economics

Tajikistan (Dushanbe): Alternative Energy, Impacts of Labor Migration,
Urban Planning

Turkmenistan (Ashgabat): Agronomy, Environment

Ukraine (Kyiv): Economics/ Social Spending, Political Affairs/
Overview of Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Ukraine - Belarus Nexus

EPS Program information and application materials are now available on
the IREX website at http://www.irex.org/programs/eps/index.asp

The application deadline is April 4, 2008.

Please contact eps@irex.org or call (202) 628-8188 with any questions.

You may find a list of all IREX International Fellowship opportunities
on the website: http://www.irex.org/programs/grants.asp

Please note that this fellowship is only available to applicants that
are US citizens or have permanent residency in the United States.

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