Clan Politics and Regime Transition in Central Asia

This book is a study of the role of clan networks in Central Asia from the early twentieth century through 2004. Exploring the social, economic, and historical roots of clans, and their political role and political transformation in the Soviet and post-Soviet periods, it argues that clans are informal political actors that are critical to understanding politics in this region. The book demonstrates that the Soviet system was far less successful in transforming and controlling Central Asian society, and in its policy of eradicating clan identities, than has often been assumed. In order to understand Central Asian politics and their economies today, scholars and policy makers must take into account the powerful role of these informal groups, how they adapt and change over time, and how they may constrain or undermine democratization in this strategic region.

Table of Contents:
List of Tables and Figures; Preface; Acknowledgements; Note on Transliteration; 1. An introduction to political development and transition in Central Asia; 2. Clan politics and regime transition in Central Asia: a framework for understanding politics in clan-based societies; 3. Colonialism to Stalinism: the dynamic between clans and the State; 4. The informal politics of Central Asia from Brezhnev through Gorbachev; 5. Transition from above or below? (1990–1991); 6. Central Asia's transition (1991–1995); 7. Central Asia's regime transformation (1995–2004): Part I; 8. Central Asia's regime transformation (1995–2004): Part II; 9. Positive and negative political trajectories in clan-based societies; 10. Conclusion; Epilogue; Appendix; Index.

About the Author :
Kathleen Collins is Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Notre Dame and Faculty Fellow at the Kellogg Institute for International Studies. She has published articles in World Politics, Comparative Politics, the Journal of Democracy, and several edited volumes. She has received grants from the MacArthur Foundation, the United States Institute for Peace, IREX, and the National Council for Russian, East European and Eurasian Research, among others. Dr Collins was named a Carnegie Scholar in 2003 for her research. She has been conducting research throughout Central Asia for eleven years, since 1994.

Review :
"The author is to be commended for seeking to reorient comparative politics toward the study of informal relations and politics and for her attention to Central Asia's pre-transition history. The book is stimulating." Sada Aksartova, Japanese Journal of Political Science "Clan Politics and Regime Transition in Central Asia is a stunning piece of scholarship on regime transformation. It is, by far, the best work to date on the dynamics of Central Asia's weak states. Collin's empirical research is impeccable and based on an array of sources gathered during three years of fieldwork. She buttresses every point, large and small, with on-the-ground interview material, ethnographic data, and well-considered secondary accounts. One can only hope that her attention to empirical detail will become the new standard among scholars of comparative politics. This is an empirically rich and theoretically stimulating book that deserves to be read adn deeply considered, by anyone who cares about Central Asia or the phenomenon of weak states." - Edward Schatz, University of Toronto The Russian Review