Central Asia: from dark matter to a dark curtain?
Tutumlu A.
2021Routledge
Central Asian Survey
2021#40Issue 4504 - 522 pp.
This article answers the question of why Central Asia studies has not contributed more fully to the study of comparative politics since the collapse of the Soviet Union. It argues that during the Soviet period, Central Asia remained a dark matter to Western scholars specializing in Sovietology and who lacked access to the region. Although in the 1990s Western academics saw the ‘light at the end of the tunnel’, expecting Central Asia to join the liberal world order, these hopes declined after the 2000s when not only the transition paradigm failed, but also because a consolidated form of authoritarianism closed access to the field. In conclusion, this article offers the most promising fields for the development of the study of comparative politics across and inside Central Asia.
authoritarianism , Central Asia at 30 , comparative politics , Sovietology , transition
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Department of Political Science, Near East University, Nicosia, Cyprus
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), Turkey
China and Central Asia Studies Centre, KIMEP University, Almaty, Kazakhstan
Department of Political Science
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC)
China and Central Asia Studies Centre
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