Reuel Hanks

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Alexander Morrison

University of Oxford

Armando Marques-Guedes

UNL - New University of Lisbon

Peter B Golden

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

Marlene Laruelle

The George Washington University

Mustafa Aydin

Kadir Has University

Iain Staffell

Imperial College London

Sergey Abashin

European University at St. Petersburg

Ilya Kalinin

Humboldt Universität zu Berlin

Syukri Muhammad Nur

Darma Persada University

Dr. Matthew Crosston

Brown University

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Papers by Reuel Hanks

Renaissance and Repression in an Authoritarian Context

Religion and Law in Uzbekistan

Critical Issues in Social Justice, 2004

... Within a few months, its leader-ship had mostly been imprisoned, although two key leaders, To... more

The Islamic Factor in Nationalism and Nation-Building in Uzbekistan: Causative Agent or Inhibitor?

Nationalities Papers, 1994

Nationalism became the bane of the Soviet empire. The disintegration of the USSR due to nationali... more Nationalism became the bane of the Soviet empire. The disintegration of the USSR due to nationalistic forces has occurred with a swiftness that few, if any, Western Sovietologists anticipated. The four Central Asian states, with high rates of population growth and a strategic location at the crossroads of Europe, the Middle East and South Asia, now acquire a new significance. Of these Uzbekistan, with a population of twenty million, seventy percent of whom belong to the titular national group, looms largest in terms of demographic and economic potential. The population of Uzbekistan is almost twice as large as the other nascent Central Asian nations combined, and despite severe ecological damage, produces almost two thirds of the cotton in the region, along with natural gas, gold and other minerals.

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Iran in Eurasia: Geopolitical Patterns and Regional Relationships. Editor's Introduction

Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies, 2012

As this issue of JBANES goes to press, the drumbeat of portending conflict between Iran and the W... more As this issue of JBANES goes to press, the drumbeat of portending conflict between Iran and the West is increasing both in volume and in tempo. The fundamental question that frames the relational narrative between Iran and its duo nemeses, the USA and Israel, is no longer if Iranian nuclear facilities should be destroyed via military action, but whether it will be Washington or Tel Aviv that will take the initiative in doing so. The belligerent rhetoric emanating from both sides has frequently made headlines in recent years, along with both overt and covert strategies to disrupt Iranian efforts to develop the technology and acquire the material necessary to build a nuclear bomb. The imposition of economic sanctions and other penalties, assassinations of scientists potentially involved in the programme and the sudden appearance of mysterious, destructive computer viruses all are part and parcel of the sensational and antagonistic saga of Iran’s relationship with the West. A discussion frequently missing from the headlines is Iran’s position as a regional power, and the country’s increasing influence in both the political and economic affairs of its neighbours. From its inception in 1979, the Islamic regime pursued its strategic, and to some extent, its ideological interests from the vantage point of regional integration and cooperation, and sought status as a leading player in Central Eurasia. Only a very limited amount of scholarship has been produced examining Iranian strategy and goals in a regional context. The aim of this special issue is to partially fill that void. The rift between Iran and the West, now approaching 35 years in duration, has profoundly shaped the geopolitical strategies of each. The collapse of the Soviet Union, coming a dozen years after the Iranian Revolution, opened a new frontier in this rivalry. Central Eurasia, a realm extending along Iran’s eastern flank from Moscow to Kabul, was viewed by Iranian leaders as a natural counterweight to the West, because of shared geopolitical interests and historical linkages. Abbas Maleki, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister at the time, only slightly more than a year after the disintegration of the USSR declared that Russia now should ‘view itself as being part of Asia’ so that a regional ‘economic and political front against the West’ might be

A Separate Space?: Karakalpak Nationalism and Devolution in Post-Soviet Uzbekistan

Europe-Asia Studies, 2000

POLITICAL DEVOLUTION, in the form of state disintegration and newly emergent state boundaries, wa... more POLITICAL DEVOLUTION, in the form of state disintegration and newly emergent state boundaries, was the hallmark of the 1990s. Beginning with the abrupt collapse of centralised political control in the USSR and Yugoslavia, the trend continues in those regions (e.g. the Caucasus and Kosovo), as well as such farflung locations as Quebec, Kashmir and East Timor. Indeed, the rise of a centrifugal tendency as a result of nationalism appears to have enough political and social momentum to carry well into the new century. Whether this trend is the result or cause of a 'clash of civilisations' (to use Huntington's phrase), a reaction to globalisation and post-modernism, or a combination of these and other factors, it appears likely that challenges to state cohesion will continue to occur, even with concomitant attempts at regional economic unification.

Dynamics of Islam, identity, and institutional rule in Uzbekistan: Constructing a paradigm for conflict resolution

Communist and Post-Communist Studies, 2007

The “re-Islamization” of society in independent Uzbekistan has proven to be a complex process, ge... more The “re-Islamization” of society in independent Uzbekistan has proven to be a complex process, generating conflict in the social, cultural and political spheres. Since the early 1990s, the regime of Islam Karimov has sought to undermine any manifestation of “unofficial” Islam via imprisonment of the leadership, implementation of repressive statutes governing religious activity, and other coercive means. Yet, since 1999 Uzbekistan has experienced more religious violence directed against government power structures by “extremists” than any other former Soviet republic in Central Asia. Important issues that should direct U.S. policy remain unresolved: How significant is the threat from radical Islam in Uzbekistan, that is, what are the chances of politicized, “fundamentalist” Islam emerging as a mass movement there? Has recent U.S. policy reduced or exacerbated the dynamics of conflict between the regime and the “radicals?” In order to effect resolution of this conflict, a new paradigm...

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Emerging spatial patterns of the demographics, labour force and FDI in Uzbekistan

Central Asian Survey, 2000

Like all the remnant states of the Soviet Union, Uzbekistan is faced with constructing independen... more Like all the remnant states of the Soviet Union, Uzbekistan is faced with constructing independent economic structures and linking those to the global economy. The challenge in Uzbekistan differs markedly from that in Russia, Ukraine, the Baltics and other industrialized regions of the former socialist leviathan in several important dimensions, however. The challenge of economic development in Uzbekistan is compounded by a burgeoning population, the youthful structure of the existing population and an agrarian-based economic structure inherited from the Soviet era. Millions of young Uzbeks will enter the job market over the next twenty years and evidence suggests they will not migrate in large numbers, either internally or externally. The rami cations for stability are obvious: as the labour force expands, the Uzbek economy must grow at a comparable rate, or risk social and political upheaval as levels of unemployment increase and standards of living decline. Located in the geographic heart of Central Asia, Uzbekistan borders on every other post-Soviet Central Asian country as well as Afghanistan and dwarfs all of its neighbours demographically except Kazakstan. Several of those states hold large Uzbek minorities, and it seems clear that Uzbekistan will play a pivotal role in the development of the entire region. The success or failure of the country’s experiment with independence and economic reform therefore holds high stakes for Central Asia’s stability, a region of extreme importance due to its position as the nexus of South Asia, western China, and Russia. The discussion that follows will brie y describe current economic conditions in Uzbekistan, and then turn to an investigation of the spatial characteristics of economic development in the country by focusing on the geographical aspects of three factors: demographic expansion, labour force structure and dynamics, and locational attributes of FDI (Foreign Direct Investment). The developing patterns of each of these will be examined and explicated in turn. The nal stage of the analysis will brie y address the inter-relationship of these three elements and how that relationship may in uence political stability in the emerging Uzbek state.

‘Multi-vector politics’ and Kazakhstan's emerging role as a geo-strategic player in Central Asia

Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies, 2009

Although published in 2002, Cutler's work devotes a scant two pages to Kazakhstani foreign policy... more Although published in 2002, Cutler's work devotes a scant two pages to Kazakhstani foreign policy after 1995, and his claim that 'The preliminary choices made. .. in favor of the priority of Russia and China, have only been underlined since then. .. ' ignores the close cooperation Kazakhstan has had with the USA, the EU and NATO since the terror attacks of 11 September 2001. The Kazakhstani government has generally supported the US military effort in Iraq, and is the only Central Asian state to send troops to Iraq.

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Repression as Reform: Islam in Uzbekistan during the Early Glasnost' Period

Religion, State and Society, 2001

Renaissance and Repression in an Authoritarian Context

Religion and Law in Uzbekistan

Critical Issues in Social Justice, 2004

... Within a few months, its leader-ship had mostly been imprisoned, although two key leaders, To... more

The Islamic Factor in Nationalism and Nation-Building in Uzbekistan: Causative Agent or Inhibitor?

Nationalities Papers, 1994

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Iran in Eurasia: Geopolitical Patterns and Regional Relationships. Editor's Introduction

Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies, 2012