Cette thèse porte sur les changements intervenus en Asie centrale et au Kirghizstan au XXème siècle et vise à s’inscrire dans le cadre plus large des travaux portant sur la modernisation et la démodernisation. Cette région est restée en marge des développements économiques et sociaux liés à la révolution industrielle et à la globalisation jusqu’au début du XXème siècle. Le développement des concepts de modernisation puis de démodernisation sont liés aux développements économiques et sociaux. L’avènement de l’économie-monde, la concurrence entre les États-Unis d’Amérique et l’Union soviétique et la multiplication du nombre d’États ont fait des modèles de développement un enjeu crucial de géopolitique mondial. Dans cette perspective, cette thèse propose d’analyser comment le rattachement à l’Empire russe mais surtout à l’Union des républiques socialistes soviétiques (URSS) a considérablement modifié les structures économiques et sociales, la culture et les modes de vie de la population en Asie centrale. Cette région du monde a été modernisée selon les préceptes soviétiques et en cela, elle présente un cas d’étude utile tant l’Asie centrale, ses populations et sa culture étaient singulières au regard du reste de l’URSS. Le démantèlement de l’Union soviétique a provoqué l’indépendance des quinze républiques qui la constituaient. Dans une région ayant connu des avancées fulgurantes dans des domaines tels que la santé et l’éducation, de nombreuses dynamiques contraires vont pourtant apparaître dans les années 1990 et 2000. Les conditions d’accès à l’indépendance et les choix politiques effectués par les nouveaux gouvernements vont mener, au Kirghizstan notamment, à une autre révolution, néo-libérale cette fois-ci. Le contraste entre les deux périodes constituent un cas d’étude sur les dynamiques liées à la modernisation et à la démodernisation. Celui-ci soulève des interrogations liées aux choix néolibéraux qui ont été effectués et de leur impact au niveau humain. Finalement, cette thèse illustre aussi la place grandissante qu’occupera l’Asie centrale en raison de son positionnement géographique stratégique tout autant que de son histoire. / This thesis focuses on the changes that occurred in Central Asia and Kyrgyzstan in the twentieth century and is part of a larger body of work on modernization and demodernization. This region remained on the margins of the economic and social developments linked to the industrial revolution and globalization until the beginning of the 20th century. At the level of academic research, the development of the concepts of modernization and demodernization are linked to the economic and social developments that took place throughout the 20th century. The advent of the world economy, the competition between the United States of America and the Soviet Union, and the multiplication of the number of states have made development models a crucial issue in world geopolitics. In this perspective, this thesis proposes to analyze how the attachment to the Russian Empire but especially to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) has considerably modified the economic and social structures, the culture and the ways of life of the population in Central Asia. This region of the world was modernized according to Soviet precepts and in this respect it presents a useful case study, as Central Asia, its people and its culture were singular compared to the rest of the USSR. The dismantling of the Soviet Union led to the independence of the fifteen Socialist and Soviet Republics that made it up. From a region that had experienced dazzling advances in areas such as health and education, many opposing dynamics will however appear in the 1990s and 2000s. The conditions of access to independence and the political choices made by the new governments will lead, in Kyrgyzstan in particular, to another revolution, this time neo-liberal. The contrast between the two models and their consequences constitute a case study on the dynamics of modernization and demodernization. It raises questions related to the neoliberal choices that have been made and their impact on the human level. Finally, this thesis also illustrates the growing place that Central Asia will occupy because of its strategic geographical position as well as its history.

The purpose of this paper was to analyze the effect of representation of women in parliamentsand economic growth in three different regions. The regions which were analyzed wereEurope, Latin America, Russia and Central Asia. Based on previous research’s results, thequestion whether women in parliamentary settings affect economic growth and wealth wasexamined. A regression model adapted to panel data analysis was used on data obtained fromreliable sources like the World Bank and the UN. The variables used in the regression modelwere real GDP per capita, real GDP per capita growth, share of females in parliamentarypositions, trade, investment and Women, Business and the Law index (WBL). Justification ofthe variables are based in previous research which alludes to theoretical economicalframeworks. This study contributes to the institutional variable of the WBL indicator. Due tothe scale of the study, the results have varied across different regions, but the overall relationbetween women in power and economic growth was deemed positive. Explicit normsregarding accessibility to economical, political and judicial institutions have a greater impacton real GDP per capita than female parliamentary representation.

The presented doctoral thesis analyses energy security in the Central Asia region, with an emphasis on the natural gas sector. The research sought to answer the question of whether individual state actors in Central Asia are more inclined towards a strategic-oriented or market-oriented approach to energy policy in the formulation of their respective energy policy. Answering this research question aimed at better understanding the approach of individual state actors to large infrastructure projects, such as the construction of the Central Asia-China Gas Pipeline. A regional energy security complex of Central Asia was constructed for work purposes. In addition to the five Central Asian states, it also includes Russia and China as two major natural gas importers from the region. Based on theoretical literature, a model for assessing the natural gas sector in terms of the formulation of energy policy by individual state actors was developed. This model was subsequently applied to three case studies of key state actors within the Central Asian regional energy security complex. These are case studies on Turkmenistan, Russia and China. Applying the model's criteria to individual cases, the research concluded that for all three players in the Central Asian regional energy security complex, a...

The Kyrgyz are a Mongolian, Turkic ethno-linguistic people group. The political and social changes of the post-soviet times have led to a great religious openness among the Kyrgyz. Within one decade the nunber of Kyrgyz Christians has grown from few dozens to over 3000. The intention of this work was to analyze the conversion process of the Kyrgyz converts to Christianity and to apply the results to further missiological activity. The religious background of the Kyrgyz, which is heavily influenced by Folk Islam, was presented in the first chapter of the paper. In the second chapter, interviews collected from Kyrgyz Christians were evaluated. The third chapter summarizes the most important findings of the work and makes them applicable for missionary work. The precise knowledge of the religious background of the Kyrgyz and intercultural communication that it is based upon it can essentially dismantle barriers for the acceptance of the gospel. / Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / M. Th. (Missiology)

Religious experience is a narrative reality, while it certainly relates to doctrines and rituals, it is embodied by the stories people tell which express the meaning of conversion as understood by the converts themselves. In order to enter this narrative world we must engage the actual stories told by converts, making space for their narratives as they make meaning of their experiences and thus open windows on the emic perspective. Sometimes this happens through stories that are largely thematic—expressing conversion in mainly one metaphor. Other times, narratives may touch on many different ideas, allowing us to discern various internal structures, such as some of the factors leading to conversion. Nevertheless, as important as these narratives are, they are only part of the picture because religious conversion always takes place in context. Therefore, if we are to properly understand the deeply personal experience we call conversion, we must frame it within the social, cultural and historical currents swirling around that experience. The conversions in this study are rooted in the religious history of Central Asia, particularly the seventy-odd years of Soviet rule. By the end of that era, it is probably more appropriate to think in terms of localized islam, rather than a universal religion based on the text of the Quran. Not only so, but the once proudly distinct Muslim peoples, now living under Russian rule, had become enculturated into Russian patterns of life, thought, and worldview, a process referred to as Russification, something which had profound effects on the way some of them have experienced conversion away from their natal religion. This study examines both of these aspects, first the contextual and then the personal, through the stories of thirty-six Muslims who converted to faith in Christ in post-Soviet Central Asia. By exploring the deeply personal and the broadly contextual together, this study offers a clear view of the meaning of religious conversion, in a historical, social, and religious context. / Religious Studies & Arabic / D.Lit. et Phil. (Religious Studies)

In the last decade, scholars have recognized economic development and modernization as crucial themes in the history of the twentieth century and the ‘global Cold War.’ Yet while historians have written lucid histories of the role of the social sciences in American foreign policy in the Third World, far less is known on the Soviet Union’s ideological and material support during the same period for countries like Egypt, India, Ethiopia, Angola, or – most prominently – Afghanistan. This dissertation argues that the Soviet intervention in Afghanistan is best understood as the final and most costly of a series developmental interventions staged in that country during the latter half of the twentieth century by Afghans, Soviets, Americans, Germans and others. Cold War-era Afghanistan is best understood as a laboratory for ideas about the nation-state and the idea of a ‘national economy.’ One can best understand Afghanistan during that period less through a common but ahistorical ‘graveyard of empires’ narrative, and more in terms of the history of the social sciences, the state system in South and Central Asia, and the ideological changes in ideas about the state and the economy in 20th century economic thought. Four chapters explore this theme, looking at the history of the Soviet social sciences, developmental interventions in Afghanistan prior to 1978, a case study of Soviet advisors in eastern Afghanistan, and Soviet interventions to protect Afghan women. Making use of new materials from Soviet, German, and American archives, and dozens of interviews with former Soviet advisors, this dissertation makes a new and meaningful contribution to the historical literature on the Soviet Union, Central Asia, and international history.

This thesis is an ethnography of how places like mountain pastures (jailoos), hydro-electric dams and holy sites (mazars) matter in striving for a good life. Based on eighteen months of fieldwork in the Toktogul valley of Kyrgyzstan, this study contributes to theoretical questions in the anthropology of post-socialism, time, space, work and enjoyment. I use the term ‘moral geography’ to emphasize a spatial imaginary that is centred on ideas of ‘the good life’, both ethical and happy. This perspective captures an understanding of jailoos which connects food, health, wealth and beauty. In comparing attitudes towards a Soviet and post-Soviet dam, I reveal changes in the nature of the state, property and collective labour. People in Toktogul hold agentive places like mazars and non-personalized places like dams and jailoos apart, implying not one overarching philosophy of nature, but a world in which types of places have different gradations of object-ness and personhood. I show how people use forms of commemoration as a means of establishing connections between people, claims on land and aspirations of ‘becoming cultured’. I demonstrate how people draw on repertoires of epic or Soviet heroism and mobility in conceiving their life story and agency in shaping events. Different times and places such as ‘eternal’ jailoos and Soviet dams are often collapsed as people derive personal authority from connections to them. Analysing accounts of collectivization and privatization I argue that the Soviet period is often treated as a ‘second tradition’ used to judge the present. People also strive for ‘the good life’ through working practices that are closely linked to the Soviet experience, and yet differ from Marxist definitions of labour. The pervasively high value of work is fed from different, formally conflicting sources of moral authority such as Socialism, Islam and neo-liberal ideals of ‘entrepreneurship’. I discuss how parties, poetry and song bring together jakshylyk (goodness) as enjoyment and virtue. I show how song and poetry act as moral guides, how arman yearning is purposely enjoyed in Kyrgyz music and how it relates to nostalgia and nature imagery. The concept of ‘moral geography’ allows me to investigate how people strive for well-being, an investigation that is just as important as focusing on problem-solving and avoiding pain. It also allows an analysis of place and time that holds material interactions, moral ideals, economic and political dimensions in mind.

蘇聯解體後，中亞地區出現哈薩克斯坦、烏茲別克斯坦、吉爾吉斯坦、塔吉克斯坦與土庫曼斯坦五個新興國家。中亞不但擁有豐富的自然資源及重要的地緣戰略位置，傳統上屬於俄羅斯勢力範圍的地區，並與中國這個崛起中的國際強權為鄰，這樣一個特殊的地區，自然吸引各種國際勢力競相進入。911事件後，美國軍事力量正式進駐中亞，使其得以牽制俄羅斯與中國，中亞地區再次成為國際政治中的焦點。 上海合作組織是一個成立於2001年新興的國際組織，成員國涵括中國、俄羅斯、哈薩克、烏茲別克、吉爾吉、塔吉克。本文透過「地緣政治研究途徑」，來觀察上海合作組織的發展過程與前景；911事件後中亞地區情勢的變化，以及美國駐軍中亞對於上海合作組織發展的影響。 首先，本文說明上海合作組織的發展過程，以觀察各成員國為解決共同問題的實際運作情形，以及介紹上海合作組織的組織結構。同時，探討上海合作組織的合作基礎，說明上海合作組織的成立是各國間基於共同利益與解決共同問題所形成的結果，並進一步分析各成員國自身加入上海合作組織的地緣政治考量。 其次，本文討論極端主義在中亞發展的情形，藉此探討上海合作組織中亞地區成員國之間的內部關係，以及對上海合作組織發展的影響。上海合作組織成立的首要目標是要打擊中亞的極端主義，以維護中亞地區的穩定。 最後，本文說明美國中亞政策的演變，討論911事件後美國駐軍中亞的地緣戰略意涵，及其對中國和俄羅斯的衝擊，最後探討911事件對上海合作組織的發展及中亞情勢的影響。 本文認為：冷戰後，中亞地區在全球地緣戰略格局中的地位顯著上升，成為國際強權爭奪的場域，中國與俄羅斯成立上海合作組織的目的，是為追求在中亞地區中取得優勢地位，911事件後美國駐軍中亞，影響了上海合作組織的發展。911事件後，俄羅斯、中國和美國以中亞地區為場景的地緣政治大競賽中，美國暫時取得優勢地位，俄羅斯是後來居上，中國則必須繼續藉由上海合作組織將強與中亞國家的經濟與軍事合作，以維持在中亞地區的影響力。 / After the collapse of the Soviet Union, in Central Asia emerged five states: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. These countries are not only have the rich natural resources, but also take the important role of the global geostrategic patterns. Traditionally, Central Asia was viewed as a part of Russian’s influence and is adjacent to China. Beyond question, such an unusual area lures the international powers to engage the affairs of it. Since the 911 event, the U.S. acquired the opportunity to deploy their military in Central Asia. By means of military presence, the U.S. found the way to counteract the influence of Russia and China in Central Asia. Consequently, the Central Asia became the focus in international politics. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) was established by China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan in 2001. This dissertation examines the origins and prospects of the SCO, analyzes the variation of geostrategic situation in Central Asia, and discusses how the U.S. military presence in Central Asia influenced the development of SCO. Since the end of the Cold War, the Central Asia has played a significant role in global geostrategic patterns. The motive of China and Russia to promote the establishment of SCO in 2001 is to seek the predominance in the Central Asia. After the 911 event, the U.S. military presence appeared in Central Asia. And this fact indeed affected the development of SCO. China, Russia and U.S. as the three main actors of the ongoing New Great Game, which is occurring in Central Asia. The results of the New Great Game are as follow, U.S. temporarily stands on a vantage point in the present days. As for Russia, it takes the second place by controlling the CIS Collective Security Treaty Organization. As regards China, by exerting the SCO to enhance the economic and political ties with Central Asia countries, it still strives to maintain the influence in Central Asia.

An analysis of the Russian factor in China’s energy policy in Central Asia shows that the importance of energy abundant region Central Asia is getting increased as the world oil demand goes up and the instability in the Middle East gets into a more serious position. As the second largest consumer of energy, China is getting more interested in this region. China’s reluctance to become excessively tied to the Middle East as a source of oil also is another reason that turns China’s face to Central Asia. Not being the only one who is starving for energy makes China to face with other great states (Russia and the US) who has the common interests with China in the region. Therefore, in order to understand China’s energy policy in Central Asia, one has to consider about the policies of other great states in the region. This study focuses on Russian factor in China’s energy policy in Central Asia. There is no doubt that, Russia’s policy in the region has a great effect in China’s every tactic in the region, but today’s one supreme power has an enormous effect on both of the states in the region. The main conclusion of the analysis is that Sino-Russia relations are likely to be more cooperative than competitive. Russia, with its abundant energy resources, is a very good partner that China can get into an energy-trade relationship with. They both are against the US influence in the region. Sino-Russian relations are likely to remain stable in the short and medium term, based on a convergence of interests. The happy state of the relationship may end in the longer term when both side dont need eachother in economic terms. China-US and US -Russia relations are more competitive than cooperative. So there is a big struggle for energy among these three great states. Energy rich Central Asian states’ -Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan- more pragmatic policies make these trilateral relations more complex.

The impact of environmental degradation on well-being is largely ignored in terms of economic costs of development. Due in large part to measurement difficulties, the environment in the daily welfare of the world's poorest remains inadequately accounted for in development policies. The aim of this work is, therefore, to advance our understanding of the relationship between the environment and human health. Anthropogenic activities in Central Asia have severely disrupted the natural environment. The poorest, most vulnerable members of society are at an increased risk of mortality and a life-time of illness associated with worsening ecological conditions in the region. The work is by nature inter-disciplinary and pulls from many social sciences in an attempt to provide new insight into the role of long term environmental degradation and the impact on social welfare. There are three main original contributions of this work. Firstly, the research demonstrates the traditional emphasis in the literature on socioeconomic factors in explaining high rates of child mortality in Central Asia is inadequate. Secondly, for the first time in an international cross-section examining the determinants of child survival, the macro-level environment is put forth as a key determinant of excess child mortality in Central Asia. An improved measure of income is used for the first time in such a study to control for important distributional effects within and between countries. The results confirm the hypothesis that traditional determinants do not account for endemically high rates of mortality in the region. Secondly, using administrative (oblast) data from Uzbekistan, Chapter 6 presents the first study of its kind to incorporate important geographic as well as socioeconomic information in explaining variation in infant mortality due likely to ecological degradation. Ultimately, the findings demonstrate the environment must be adequately considered in all policy making aimed at improving health outcomes in the region.