Central Asia: Contemporary Security Challenges and Sources of State Resilience – Alessandro Frigerio and Nargis Kassenova

Title: Central Asia: Contemporary Security Challenges and Sources of State Resilience
Author: Alessandro Frigerio and Nargis Kassenova

Central Asia: Contemporary Security Challenges and Sources of State Resilience [Frigerio, Kassenova]

Abstract

Taking a deliberately narrow conception of security, defined as the organizational effectiveness of regimes, this paper considers recent incidents of violence in Central Asia (the second revolution in Kyrgyzstan; events in Osh, Zhanaozen and Pamir; and various “terrorist” incidents) to ask which factors have shown their potential to cause conflict and destabilization. In light of this, the paper discusses the sources of legitimacy and state capacity in Central Asian states, concluding that they are “Machiavellian principalities”.

Keywords

Central Asian States of the former Soviet Union; political unrest; authoritarian rule; political elites; armed conflicts; State functions; militant Islam

Metadata

Title: Central Asia: Contemporary Security Challenges and Sources of State Resilience
Author: Alessandro Frigerio and Nargis Kassenova
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/18750230-02402004
Language: English
Year: 2013
Volume: 24
Issue: 2
Pages: 123–135
In: Security and Human Rights
E-ISSN: 1875-0230