THE CRUMBLING KYRGYZ REPUBLIC
Sullivan C.J.
2021Routledge
Asian Affairs
2021#52Issue 144 - 61 pp.
Although Kyrgyzstan has recently withstood two coup détats (or so-called “revolutions”) and a bout of ethnic violence, the politicization of the legal system by successive presidents portends a troublesome future. The 2017 transition from Almazbek Atambaev to Sooronbai Jeenbekov gave way to the formers arrest and imprisonment. A series of other prior arrests and incarcerations of (former) parliamentarians indicate that Kyrgyzstans presidents are regularly manipulating the legal system to persecute and neutralize their rivals. This article posits that the repetitive rupturing of legal institutions will usher in an era of heightened illiberalism, elite uncertainty, and the further discrediting of the political system, thereby placing the state on the brink of failure. The mass uprising in response to the October 2020 parliamentary electoral results and most recent coup détat indicate that the prospects of the Kyrgyz Republic suffering a collapse are real.
Kyrgyzstan , legal system , October 2020 , October elections , Protests , protests , riots , Rule of Law , State Failure
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Nazarbayev University in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan
Nazarbayev University in Nur-Sultan
10 лет помогаем публиковать статьи Международный издатель
Книга Публикация научной статьи Волощук 2026 Book Publication of a scientific article 2026