Registan’s Uzbekistan News & Analysis Archive

Uzbekistan borders every other Central Asian state and is the most populous country in the region. The government of Islom Karimov, who has led Uzbekistan since before independence in 1991, has a notoriously poor human rights record and a reputation for refusing to accept any international criticism. However, geography makes it important to energy and transportation infrastructure in Central Asia and a crucial partner to the United States and other members of ISAF for the campaign in Afghanistan.

Several Registan authors have lived, worked, and studied in Uzbekistan and have between them decades of experience in academia, government, and private industry dealing with topics related to Uzbekistan. We use that experience and expertise to report on, contextualize, and analyze current events in Uzbekistan. Registan puts that experience to work to offer research, analysis, and training services tailored to your individual needs. For more information on how we can help you and your organization better understand Uzbekistan and Central Asia, visit our services page.

New Report for USAID — “Central Asian Involvement in the Conflict in Syria and Iraq: Drivers and Responses”

by Noah Tucker
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This spring USAID and MSI International commissioned me to write a long-form policy paper on the Central Asian recruiting to the Syrian conflict. Though it took a couple of months to make sure it was approved for public release, I’m happy to finally be able to share it. This report is the culmination of around [...]

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Ignorance, Incompetence, and the Islamic State on the Steppe

by Casey_Michel

There’s a peculiar belief currently coursing intellectual circles in Moscow. Combining the bubbling traits of nativism and Islamophobia, and playing squarely into the hands of those seeking to amp the region’s security structures, certain circles have begun pumping up the terror and tenor of the threat posed by the Islamic State. To be sure, these [...]

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Putin’s Words and Kazakh History

by Casey_Michel

Another summer passes, and Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev grows that much closer to moving into his post-presidential period. Unfortunately, this summer moved us no closer toward identifying a successor to the 74-year-old Nazarbayev. We have candidates, from Timur Kulibayev to Kassym-Zhomart Tokayev to Dariga Nazarbayeva, but no figure has yet jumped to the fore. With [...]

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Road of Sorrow – Trafficking and Ethnicity on the Pamir Highway

by Stephen M. Bland
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Beginning in the Kyrgyz second city of Osh, the Pamir Highway – the second highest international road in the world – runs the length of Tajikistan and down through Uzbekistan before terminating in Afghanistan. Ninety tonnes of heroin is trafficked through Tajikistan each year, much of it passing through the poverty stricken, self-governing Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous [...]

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Marching Westward

by Casey_Michel

We always knew 2014 was going to be a year of Eurasian shift. The American withdrawal from Afghanistan, pegged to 2014, coincided with Washington’s pivot to East Asia – as well as the Americans’ unceremonious eviction from the Manas Transit Center, their most noteworthy placeholder in Central Asia. And as soon as Viktor Yanukovych made [...]

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Facebook Jihad: The IMU’s Digital Communication Strategy for the Karachi Airport Attack

by Noah Tucker
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We’re happy to announce that the Central Asia Digital Islam Project has released our first short policy paper with the The Central Eurasia – Religion in International Affairs (CERIA) program at George Washington University. Facebook Jihad: The IMU’s Digital Communication Strategy for the Karachi Airport Attack identifies the IMU’s social media tactics and strategies seen [...]

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New Interview on IMU Operations in Pakistan

by Noah Tucker
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I’ve had every intention of writing an IMU article this week after they claimed the Karachi airport attack and articles began to pop up questioning what this means for Central Asia. I still haven’t managed to write it, but was grateful to Kathy Gilsinan at World Politics Review for giving me a chance to talk [...]

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Uzbekistan signed a new document to end child labor: Time for real change?

by Dillorom Abdulloeva

Uzbekistan and the International Labor Organization (ILO) signed a program on technical cooperation for upcoming three years on April 25, 2014. Priorities of the program among others include the promotion of international labor standards and fundamental principles and rights at work, the promotion of occupational safety and health and the enhancement of social protection for [...]

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A New Eurasian Epoch, But No One Really Noticed

by Casey_Michel

Unless you’ve been watching the post-Soviet space with a keen eye, you likely missed the world’s-biggest-round-table signing last week. The meeting, held in Astana, heralded what Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed as a new “epoch” – the official founding of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), set to come into force on Jan. 1, 2015. But [...]

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The Central Asia Digital Islam Project: How the Internet and Social Media are Reshaping the Islamic Marketplace in Central Asia

by Noah Tucker
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The Internet and social media are slowly beginning to revolutionize the Islamic marketplace of ideas for Central Asians. Similar to processes identified by scholars like Peter Mandaville in other contexts, Central Asia’s access to digital Islam has been delayed by low Internet penetration, authoritarian controls on media and communication, and, in part, by Central Asia’s [...]

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