Looking for Trouble in Cn Asia

3 Credits · Level: Graduate, Juris Doctor, Undergraduate

This course will focus on Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan -- countries mostly seen as undifferentiated and static “post-Soviet ‘stans,” as chess pieces in a “Great Game” between global and regional powers, or as countries known for what they mean to conflicts outside the region. We will dive into what drives conflict inside the region itself and try to understand great power competition and collaboration from the perspective of the Central Asian countries. Along the way we will get to know the recent history of the different countries individually as well, and students will learn how to keep up on and analyze events in the region from real-time sources. We will start with how the trauma of perestroika and the collapse of the USSR shaped the new countries of the region. We will examine the regional revival of Islam and how Central Asians became involved with the Islamic state; the rise of nativist ethnic nationalism; economic dependence on labor migration; resource conflict and borders; climate change and Central Asia’s role in a global post-carbon future. We will also look at how great power competition and geopolitical developments in China, Afghanistan, and Ukraine have challenged the security of the region.