Tajikistan on the Move: Statebuilding and Societal Transformations(Contemporary Central Asia: Societies, Politics, and Cultures)

Table of Contents:
Introduction, Marlene Laruelle Part I: State Dynamics. Policies, their Actors and their Spaces Chapter 1: Hobbesian Neopatrimonialism, Jesse Driscoll Chapter 2: Rebels without a Cause? Authoritarian Conflict Management in Tajikistan, 2008-2015, John Heathershaw and Parviz Mullojonov Chapter 3: From Moscow to Madrid: Governing Security Threats Beyond Tajikistan's Borders, Edward Lemon Chapter 4: Tajikistan's Multi-Vector Foreign Policy: Constructing Relations with Russia, China, and the United States, Kirill Nourzhanov Part II: Tajik Society: Local Developments and Social Vulnerabilities Chapter 5: Dushanbe Is Quite Far: Deconcentrated Agrarian Reform in Rural Tajikistan, Brent Hierman Chapter 6: Local Governance in Khatlon, Tajikistan, Suzanne Levi-Sanchez Chapter 7: Development Practices, Insecurity, and Risks: Injectable Drug Users in Gorno-Badakhshan, Sophie Hohmann Chapter 8: “A Woman Without a Man is a Kazan Without a Lid”: Polygyny in Tajikistan, Michele Commercio Part III: State Memory and M

About the Author :
Marlene Laruelle is research professor, director of the Central Asia Program, and associate director of the Institute for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies (IERES) at the Elliott School of International Affairs of George Washington University.

Review :
The book features a uniquely cohesive collection of essays by well-known scholars of Tajikistan. . . The frank description of government dependence on Chinese investment, Russian security support, significant labour migrant remittances and drug trafficking sets the tone for a thorough and forthright presentation of the country. . . . In sum, the rich and detailed descriptions in this book give it general appeal as well as academic value. As a coherent set of perspectives, each offering high levels of expertise, deep knowledge and astute analysis, this book belongs in every university library. Students of sociology, anthropology and development economics can learn a great deal from these examples. Scholars of comparative politics, conflict analysis and politics will see here a substantive development of their fields. This collection of studies on state and society and their interplay combines the best of theoretically informed and ethnographically grounded research to date on contemporary Tajikistan. The authors collectively offer nuanced and realistic assessments of the political, economic, and social dynamics influencing Tajikistan’s autocratic regime, the elites within, on the margins of, and excluded from the ruling Rahmon family’s consolidated privileges, and the broader Tajik population at home and abroad. In short, this is a sobering and useful resource for scholars, policymakers, and program implementers seeking a deep understanding of this so-called ‘post post-conflict’ country. This is an important study. Compiling a wide range of topics such as foreign policy, civil war memories, migration, gender relations, and Muslim piety, it provides an impressive kaleidoscopic image of post-civil war Tajikistan. Casting new light on the state-society nexus, this volume is a remarkable advance in our understanding of the multiple movements in and beyond the country on local, translocal, and regional scales. This is a significant book not only for scholars of Tajikistan and Central Asia but also for scholars of political science, anthropology, and area studies interested in the complex assemblage of authoritarian state politics, socio-economic complexities, and mobility at the crossroad of postsocialism and globalization. This is an excellent book that brings together insights from cutting-edge research on Tajikistan, greatly advancing our understanding of the country. The contributors deftly integrate social science theories and concepts into their fine-grained analysis, covering a number of key issues confronting the country: how the state pursues security at home and abroad; what underlying support sustains its authoritarian rule; how society addresses daunting challenges such as inequality, drug use, polygyny, and migration; and what are the underlying legacies of its civil war. This book, in short, provides a penetrating look into the most essential problems in Tajikistan’s politics and society.