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This thesis contends that Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine served as a turning point, signifying a critical juncture in geopolitical dynamics, heightening the pressure on the Central Asian states Kazakhstan's and Kyrgyzstan's relationship with Russia. It investigates how the dynamics in the relationship since this critical juncture have evolved. As such, this thesis is an illustrative case of Russia's relationship and claims on former Soviet republics. This thesis builds on the discourse of the interplay between structure and agency in foreign policy analysis. However, this thesis moves beyond conventional static theories on states' foreign policy by employing role theory as a conduit between agency and structure. By incorporating Opperman's (2024) understanding of altercasting mechanisms combined with theories on the behaviour of small states, this thesis presents a contextualised perspective on different patterns in the role-play between different types of states following a critical juncture. The findings reveal an intensified Russian determination to maintain its leadership position vis-à-vis Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. Furthermore, the results support Guimarães and Maitino's (2019) proposition that secondary states primarily engage in re-altercasting using cues related to their status. However, the divergent outcomes in Kazakhstan's and Kyrgyzstan's role-play with Russia suggest that agency efforts are contingent on the actors' perceived position in the regional structure and the strength of their status position's interconnection with the regional leaders. This underscores the need for further research to understand and identify the critical points at which post-Soviet states can enact agency to change Russian-imposed role expectations.

No / This paper brings new evidence on the impact of services liberalization on the performance of manufacturing firms. Using a unique database of Ukrainian firms in 2001-2007, the authors utilize an external push for liberalization in the services sector as a source of exogenous variation to identify the impact of services liberalization on total factor productivity (TFP) of manufacturing firms. The results indicate that a standard deviation increase in services liberalization is associated with a 9 percent increase in TFP. Allowing services liberalization to dynamically influence TFP through the investment channel leads to an even larger effect. The effect is robust to different estimation methods and to different sub-samples of the data. In particular, it is more pronounced for domestic and small firms.

Gegenstand der Dissertation sind die Ausgrabungen in der uigurischen Hauptstadt Karabalgasun/Mongolei der Jahre 2009-2011. Ein Schwerpunkt ist die Darstellung und Auswertung der Grabungsergebnisse unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der bauarchäologischen und stadtgeschichtlich relevanten Zeugnisse. Die Ausgrabungsergebnisse werden in den Kontext der frühen Siedlungs- und Stadtgeschichte Zentralasiens unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der Mongolei, Südsibiriens und Burjatiens eingebunden. Ein erklärtes Ziel der Dissertation ist, die besondere Bedeutung von spätnomadischen Stadtgründungen und Gründungsstädten im Zusammenhang spätnomadischer Herrschaftsbildungen zu erhellen und damit zu einem neuen Verständnis der Stadt im zentralasiatischen Nomadentum im Allgemeinen beizutragen.

Sheep and goat formed the foundation of pastoral activity across the Central Asian steppe through the Bronze Age. Theories of pastoral activity have assumed that flocks were uniform in association with ethnic groups that crossed the steppe with new ceramic forms and technologies. This study investigated differences between flocks of sheep and goat across the eastern Kazakh steppe in the Late and Final Bronze Age to elucidate the potential for animal exchange and mobility. Geometric morphometric techniques were applied to archaeological astragali from Ovis aries and Capra hircus. The methods for measurement and analysis were carefully developed to control only for inherited characteristics that relate to environmentally driven adaptations in the movement of the hind limb. Efficiency of movement in this limb is tied to survival and reproductive success of animals. Specimens were selected from three archaeological sites located in different ecozones across the steppe to maximize ecological variability. Geometric morphometric results revealed that flocks of sheep exhibited unique astragalus morphology, indicating that crossbreeding and exchange did not occur between sites. These sites were also subjected to full zooarchaeological analyses to investigate variability of economic subsistence patterns. The total number of species as well as investigations into survival and skeletal body part representation revealed that each site had unique subsistence patterns that were related to local ecological resource availability, despite material culture links. This variability in subsistence patterns and flock uniformity indicate that animal trade was not a feature of steppe networks. Local lifeways were specific to small patches of the steppe, despite overarching shared material cultures.

Although there is little official data, early girls’ marriage before the age of 18 appears to have increased in Tajikistan over recent years, due to the limited socio-economic opportunities. This study aimed to explore the main causes behind the fall in the age of marriage for girls. As Tajikistan is based on patriarchal values, where family is the core of decision-making, the study looks into the family dynamics and interrelationships to analyse the driving forces behind the decision to arrange marriage for the girls at an earlier age. Using triangulated methods of qualitative data collection, such as interviews, focus group discussions and case studies, the study was conducted in urban, semi rural/semi urban and rural areas of Tajikistan. The findings confirm that early marriage exists in Tajikistan. Although marriage has always been important for Tajiks, recently early age of marriage has been more prioritized. The young girls today leave school when they reach puberty, limit their socialization with their friends outside of the house and rigorously learn skills that qualify them as a ‘desirable’ kelin [bride] to increase their chances of getting a marriage proposal within what is a short marriage window. At the same time, the study argues that the family decision to pursue an early age of marriage for daughters is not because of the low status of the women as it has been suggested in some earlier research. Instead, the study argues that marriage is a strategy to provide girls with what is often the only opportunity of an economically and socially secure future in the country under the current socio-economic and political context. Relations within the families are more complicated than dominant-subordinate as previously portrayed but are based on respect, love and responsibility towards each other. This ‘connectivity’ assists in shaping the girls as potent Tajik women ready for their future roles of mothers and wives. The young girls, as this study suggests, are usually not completely powerless either, as they exercise the limited agency provided by the patriarchal system and actively engage in negotiating their interests. Thus, the study aimed to (1) draw attention to the issue of early marriage among girls in Tajikistan and (2) to contribute to the scholarly discussion on early marriage and on gender and family dynamics in Tajikistan. Based on the findings, it is recommended that more research needs to be conducted to discuss the phenomenon of early girls’ marriage in Tajikistan. Further, legal, political and social changes are necessary to provide a safety net for women married at an early age but divorced or abandoned later. Although bringing changes to the marriage values might be a challenging task, it is hoped that this research and others similar to this one will demonstrate the importance of the issue and will result in appropriate attention and an effective policy response.

We developed a network of tree-ring width chronologies of larch (Larix sibirica Led.) from upper tree-lines of the southeast Altai Mountains, South Siberia. Annual tree-ring variability of chronologies since A.D. 1710 was compared using factor analysis. The factor analysis clustered eight tree-ring chronologies into two groups that were used for compositing chronologies. One resulting composite chronology (A.D. 1582-1994) averaged sites from upper tree-lines in glacier-free areas and another chronology (A.D. 1090-1999) captured the sites at upper tree-lines in valleys of the Korumdu, Aktru, Yan-Karasu and Kizil-Tash Glaciers (North-Chuya Range). There is no significant difference in the estimated strength of temperature signals (June and July) of the composite chronologies. However, we observed a remarkable contrast in the decadal variability of larch growth between upper tree-lines of glacier-free areas and glacier valleys. The tree-ring growth of larch was coherent among the chronologies for the period A.D. 1582-1725. Suddenly, low-frequency similarity declined around A.D. 1730. The magnitude of differences became more pronounced after A.D. 1775 indicating three periods with opposite growth tendency (1775-1850, 1900-1915 and 1960-1994) that alternated with short periods of coherent growth. We assume that the low-frequency signal in the glacier valley larch chronology accommodates oscillations of both summer temperature and glacier dynamics. The periods of low-frequency departures are consistent with the 19th Century advance and tremendous 20th Century retreat of the glaciers. We argue that expanded glaciers enhance harmful impacts of katabatic wind on larch growth. It appears that employing tree rings from upper tree-lines of glaciated areas for estimation of decadal and centennial variability climatic proxies should be selected with great caution.

The aim of this work is to classify and analyse the ceramic assemblage of the sector 20 - so-called Citadel - of the site Jandavlattepa in the South of Uzbekistan. This settlement in historical Bactria was inhabited in its latest phase by the Kushans. The here presented pottery was discovered by a Czech-Uzbekistan expedition during the years 2002-2006. This work presents the history and environments of the site in order to enable a complex understanding of the pottery assemblage as a whole, in relation to its contexts. The pottery fragments are divided into the groups according fabric, shapes and forms. The decoration types are also accentuated. All these features help to compare Jandavlattepa with analogical sites of Central Asia from the same period.

(in English): The main goal of this thesis is to explain settlement development and its dynamics in mountain and piedmonts regions of Kugitang and Baysuntau ranges, southern Uzbekistan, in the High Middle Ages, as well as to evaluate archaeological material gathered by Czech- Uzbek expedition in 2014-2018. The data in question is set in historical and archaeological framework. The thesis contains evaluation of methods and of informative value of the given material. Furthermore, the previous research in region is evaluated and its results thoroughly revised. The complete list of both formerly and newly known sites in researched region has been created. Finally, settlement dynamics and factors that could influenced it are discussed and evaluated.