🌏 The June edition of #CentralAsia Snapshot is out now. This month’s newsletter looks at Kazakhstan’s AI ambitions, Kyrgyzstan’s first UN Security Council seat, Tajikistan’s amnesty decree, Uzbekistan’s World Cup qualification, and more. 📩 Read here: mailchi.mp/fpc.org.uk/c...

Put one way, the Japarov-Tashiev split is a “political divorce…  involving high stakes, such as significant assets, complex business structures, or intense custody battles.”

Lukpan Akhmediyarov, a popular independent Kazakh journalist, was briefly detained and questioned, along with his crew, in Astana after returning from a reporting trip to Ukraine. Fits into a pattern of increasing pressure within Kazakhstan on anybody openly supporting Ukraine t.me/Zanamiviehal...

Calling Central Asianists! CFP for the conference “Soviet Central Asia as a Totalitarian Testing Ground” in Warsaw, 15-17 June, is now open. Some travel funding available.

Attending #UKMediaFreedomForum at the City St George’s, University of London along with our partners and the form co-organisers @fpcthinktank.bsky.social #UKMFF2026

🔥 NEW ARTICLE ALERT 🔥 The five spatial political logics of populism: An analytical framework and research agenda for studying the populist politicisation of space from the local to the transnational in @bjpir.bsky.social with Benjamin de Cleen & Panos Panayotu journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

🗳️🇰🇬 This Sunday, #Kyrgyzstan holds snap parliamentary #elections. In a new article, FPC Senior Fellow Dr @aijanco.bsky.social unpacks the shift to a majoritarian system, declining party politics & the consolidation of presidential power. 📖 fpc.org.uk/kyrgyz-parli...

As snap parliamentary elections approach in Kyrgyzstan, there’s a distinct lack of energy or interest.

Kyrgyzstan’s democracy wasn’t perfect, but it was very much alive. As the upcoming election approaches, many struggle to recognize the country’s political arena.

As Kyrgyzstan's snap parliamentary elections approach, there’s a distinct lack of energy or interest.

Join our IPPA webinar on Civil Society & Think Tanks in Central Asia Wed, 17 Sept. I’ll present on state–civil society relations in Kazakhstan & Kyrgyzstan, and Dr. Vera Axyonova (Univ. of Birmingham) will discuss think tanks in Kazakhstan. ucentralasia.org/resources-an...

I'm back to Bluesky just for #UACES2025 updates 😅 See you in #Liverpool!

Highly recommend @donnachadcu.bsky.social Unfinished Empire pub’d by @agendapub.bsky.social Clear eyed & perceptive contextual analysis of Russian imperialism, fascinating tour thru Ukraine, Caucasus, Moldova & Belarus. Concise & very accessible, will be staple on Int Rels reading lists for many yrs

The mass party is dead, right? Not so fast. Our new book, "Populist Radical Right Parties in Action" explores the puzzle of why several of Europe's most prominent populist radical right parties are successfully reviving this "outdated" model. The book is completely Open Access 👇

Kyrgyzstan 🇰🇬 3 - 1 Qatar 🇶🇦 Huge home win for Kyrgyzstan in the World Cup qualifiers even though their chances of qualifying are beyond slim

FPC’s Director, @skcoughtrie.bsky.social, is speaking tomorrow at an evidence session at @ukparliament.parliament.uk on Transnational repression in the UK 🗓️ Wed 26 March ⏰ 2:15pm ➡️ committees.parliament.uk/event/23773

From @aijanco.bsky.social Gulf States Offer Development Assistance in Central Asia as Western Donors Step Back www.bourseandbazaar.org/articles/202...

As Western donors pull back, Gulf states are stepping up aid and development programmes in Central Asia. What is driving this shift? @aijanco.bsky.social explores the impact for our blog. Read more here: www.bourseandbazaar.org/articles/202... #CentralAsia #GulfStates #foreignaid #development

Russia and Central Asia have been mutually shaped by decades of labor migration, but these long-running ties have begun to fray.

@hulegu.bsky.social fyi

The cuts to US development aid will be widely felt among grantees in Central Asia, but leaders from the region are eyeing support from other, more neutral donors. As @aijanco.bsky.social explains, the Gulf states are emerging as development donors of choice. www.bourseandbazaar.org/articles/202...

Meanwhile, caught in the middle, Central Asian governments continue to play a balancing game between China, Russia & the West. FPC Senior Fellow @aijanco.bsky.social explores this dynamic, with a focus on the impact of sanctions on the region. 5/5 ➡️ shorturl.at/IpnRj

#Prague @charlesuni.cuni.cz #Postdoc #AcademicSky “Foreign Policy Adaptation to the Threat of Foreign Interference in the #EuropeanUnion and #NATO.” ims.fsv.cuni.cz/en/news/post...

Job! Our department just advertised a 4-year Lectureship in Eurasian Studies at Glasgow University. This is a rare opportunity to join one of Europe's top Area Studies departments, building up our expertise on Central Asia or the Caucasus. More details: www.jobs.gla.ac.uk/job/lecturer...

New article alert! @adridelrio.bsky.social & Masaaki Higashijima examine at @cpsjournal.bsky.social the relationship between elite divisions within authoritarian governments and democratization prospects.Check it out! #OpenAccess #Dictatorsky #comparativesky #CivMilSky #PolSci tinyurl.com/bdf6ryws

“responsible statecraft” 🤨

Besides the previous reading list on #Afghanistan, we have also one (much larger) on #CentralAsia: including books, podcasts, institutions, language learning... Here too I would be grateful for your tips for new entries! #academicsky docs.google.com/document/d/1...

📢 Publication alert: as part of a special issue on climate dis/misinformation, I published an article comparing the way Éric Zemmour and Marine Le Pen mobilised environmental issues in their programmes for the presidential campaign. The article is open access! 🙌 doi.org/10.15847/obs...

A massive, coordinated expensive Tik-Tok promotion campaign helped a pro- Russian candidate in Romanian presidential elections. He declared he spent no money on the campaign... www.bbc.com/news/article...

If you like all the new op-eds on the mainstreaming of the far right by gatekeepers and big names, you should read the book ... www.versobooks.com/en-gb/produc...

Dear academic friends and colleagues, please join us in signing our open letter with the RUTA Association and expressing our support and solidarity with Georgian students and scholars in their ongoing fight for academic freedom, sovereignty, democracy and justice ruta-association.org/news/open-le...

this sees the light of day soon and along with all the other contributors I owe a huge debt of gratitude to the editors link.springer.com/book/10.1007...

ECPS Report Koskina, Stavroula. (2024). Populism, Democracy, and Authoritarianism in the Southern Caucasus. European Center for Populism Studies (ECPS). November 26, 2024. doi.org/10.55271/rp0...

🚨 Few Days Left! 🚨 We are hiring a two-year postdoctoral fellow for our @uofglasgow.bsky.social & Fletcher project, “Securitization without Security: How Migration is Shaping the Global Order”, funded by Carnegie. #migcitsky 📅 Deadline: 1 Dec 📍 Location: Medford, MA apply.interfolio.com/157756

Don't miss our new @empirepoduk.bsky.social double bill- The Foundations of The Mughal Empire: From Samarkand and Kabul to the Gates of Delhi

Young American adults are increasingly getting their news from social media influencers, a majority of whom are men and lean to the right, according to a new study from the Pew Research Center.

Come join us online to discuss EU's democracy support. Thanks @jordanovaan.bsky.social x

Two days of insightful and substantial discussions, and two two dozens of amazing professionals I haven’t not met before

The Call for Papers for the UACES 55th Annual Conference 2025 at Liverpool John Moores University is officially open! Join us from 31 August to 3 September 2025, to explore Europe’s resilience in a changing world. Submit your paper by 26 January 2025 👉 www.conftool.org/uaces2025/ #CfP #UACES2025