This diploma thesis deals with conflict prevention in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. Its aim was to compare its relevance and results in the both countries. In doing so, the first theoretical section outlined the way of assessing conflict potential, which conditions and justifies applying preventative measures. This was examined in terms of Copenhagen school and its broaden meaning of security, whereas the paper focused on the political, economic and societal dimension. Then the notion of conflict prevention was framed within terminological and historical context and considered in terms of its trends and current challenges. At the end of the theoretical section, the concepts if security dimensions and conflict prevention were discussed in terms of their applicability for the case studies of Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. Afterwards, the empirical section researched the conflict potential and preventive actions of international organisations, states and non-state actors in the both countries. Analytical part evaluated the empirical data in order to assess conflict prevention in the both states. In doing so, I used SWOT analysis, which defined strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of conflict prevention in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. The results can be summarised as follows: The character...

1 Abstract The aim of this thesis is to analyze the contemporary Turkish foreign policy and to determine whether it is becoming increasingly distant from the West. To answer this question, the thesis maps and analyzes the Turkish international relations with the three main geopolitical regions of the Turkish foreign policy direction: the European Union, central Asia and the Muslim world, especially the Middle East. The direction of the Turkish foreign policy is also illustrated by the empiric part of the thesis - a quantitative event data analysis of the second half of 2012. The analysis leads to the conclusions that negotiations for accession to the European Union gives the impression that Turkey is not being invited. In central Asia Turkey promotes itself in the economic and culture areas only. The contemporary Turkish foreign policy, when Turkey increasingly identifies itself with an Islamic identity, is becoming more independent and its main focus is on the Middle East region. Turkey's ambition is to represent the whole Muslim world. Despite this fact, it cannot be said that Turkey is completely breaking away from the West. On the contrary, Turkey is now closer to the West, facing the increasing influence of Iran.

This diploma thesis deals with the creation of Uzbekistan's foreign policy. It attempts to answer three main research questions: What were the chief goals of Tashkent's foreign policy? What were the factors that influenced the creation of Uzbekistan's foreign policy? Which factors and causes played the decisive role in the case of Uzbekistan's most significant foreign policy turnovers in 2001, 2005 and 2012? It claims the principal aims of Uzbekistan's foreign policy were threefold. Firstly, it was the preservation of Uzbekistan's independence. Secondly, it was the strengthening and securing of Karimov's regime. Finally, it was the attempt to become the regional leader in Central Asia. Subsequently, the study maintains that the foreign policy formulation was altered by four processes or challenges which the regime in Tashkent had to cope with. These were namely the challenge of geopolitical position, establishing of a viable political system, transforming the command economy, and the threat of radical or political Islam. Uzbekistan's pendulum diplomacy between the US and Russia is a new term coined for the purposes of this study. I argue that Tashkent was prone to change abruptly its strategic partner in order to secure its three strategic imperatives. Hence, there occurred three turnovers of...

Teze disertační práce Pracoviště: Institut politologických studií FSV UK Praha Jméno studenta: Hrishabh Sandilya Název disertační práce: The Geopolitical Determinants of India's Central Asia Strategy Školitel: prof. PhDr. Bořivoj Hnízdo, Ph.D. Oponenti: prof. RNDr. Vladimír Baar, CSc.; Mgr. Martin Riegl, Ph.D. Termín a místo obhajoby: FSV UK, 11/2015 Osnova tezí: 1. Abstract 2. Introduction 3. Research Method & Design 4. Contributions to Literature 5. Organization of Chapters 6. Conclusions 7. Selected Bibliography 8. Interviewees 1. Abstract This dissertation aims to identify the drivers and determinants of Indian strategy and policy with regard to the five post-Soviet, Central Asian states of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan within a geopolitical framework. Contemporary scholarship recognizes three determinants (drivers) of Indian strategy in the region - security and strategic necessity, energy diversification given Central Asia's abundant natural resources, and, economic engagement and connectivity. Using this identification as a stepping-stone, the dissertation seeks to rest the validity of these assumptions, and explore these determinants in detail. In addition, it attempts to identify other determinants of Indian strategy, and offers a conceptual framework through which...

The Central Asian (CA) rangelands is a part of the arid and semi-arid ecological zones and spatial extent of drylands in CA (Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Turkmenistan) is vast. Projections averaged across a suite of climate models, as measured between 1950-2012 by Standardised Precipitation-Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI) estimated a progressively increasing drought risks across rangelands (Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan) especially during late summer and autumn periods, another index: Potential Evapotranspiration (PET) indicated drought anomalies for Turkmenistan and partly in Uzbekistan (between 1950-2000). On this study, we have combined a several datasets of drought indices ( SPIE, PET, temperature_ToC and precipitation_P) for better estimation of resilience/non-resilience of the ecosystems after warming the temperature in the following five countries, meanwhile, warming of climate causing of increasing rating of degradations and extension of desertification in the lowland and foothill zones of the landscape and consequently surrounding experienced of a raising balance of evapotranspiration (ET0). The study concluded, increasing drought anomalies which is closely related with raising (ET0) in the lowland and foothill zones of CA indicated on decreasing of NDVI indices with occurred sandy and loamy soils it will resulting a loss of vegetation diversity (endangered species) and raising of wind speeds in lowlands of CA, but on regional level especially towards agricultural intensification (without rotation) it indicated no changes of greenness index. It was investigated to better interpret how vegetation feedback modifies the sensitivity of drought indices associated with raising tendency of air temperature and changes of cold and hot year seasons length in the territory of CA.

Abstract: From Harlem to Central Asia: Langston Hughes exploration of Class, Race and Gender under the Soviet Union. This essay explores Langston Hughes journey to Soviet Central Asia, where he aimed to gain insights into the lives of people of “color” under the Soviet Union. Focusing on a book by Hughes this essay analyzes his portrayal of both colonial and post-revolutionary Central Asia.Through the lens of postcolonial theory and an intersectional approach, the study draws connections between African American and Central Asian societies during times of transition. It delves into the intricate dynamics of ethnicity, class, gender, and politics that surface in Hughes depiction of the region. Ultimately, the study seeks to deepen our understanding of the complex intersections between race, gender, ethnicity, and politics in Central Asia during and pre the Soviet era, while highlighting the long-term effects of colonialism on post-slavery African American society and post-colonial Central Asia.

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L’objectif de ce mémoire est de comprendre les facteurs qui ont contribué à la non-prolifération des groupes islamistes en Asie centrale. Bien que la menace islamiste radicale soit encore très présente dans la région, nous partons du constat qu’une telle menace ne s’est pas concrétisée. Sur la base de la littérature secondaire, nous examinons le cas de l’Ouzbékistan, sa construction nationale (nation-buiding) et identitaire (identity-building), et le traitement de l’islam avant, pendant et après la période soviétique. Comme le démontrent nos recherches, plusieurs facteurs qui expliquent la non-prolifération de l’islamisme sont fortement liés à la période soviétique et aux politiques mises en place au début du XXe siècle. Ayant construit la nouvelle nation sur des notions soviétiques, l’Ouzbékistan a choisi la voie de la restriction et du contrôle du clergé islamique officiel tout en promouvant le « bon » islam. En s’interrogeant sur le mécanisme particulier qu’utilise l’État pour contrôler l’expression religieuse et empêcher l’infiltration des mouvements islamistes ainsi que tout islam « non officiel », nous identifions et étudions le rôle de la mahalla comme moyen coercitif de contrôle et comme vecteur de continuité avec le passé présoviétique et le régime soviétique plutôt qu’un outil de changement. / The goal of this thesis is to understand the factors that have contributed to the non-proliferation of Islamist groups in Central Asia. Although the radical Islamist threat is still very present in the region, we come from the assumption that such a threat has not materialized. Based on the secondary literature, we analyze the case of Uzbekistan, its nation-building and identity-building, and the treatment of Islam before, during and after the Soviet period. As our research shows, several factors that explain the non-proliferation of Islamism are strongly linked to the Soviet period and policies put in place in the early 20th century. Having built the new nation on Soviet notions, Uzbekistan has chosen the path of restricting and controlling the official Islamic clergy all the while promoting the “good” Islam. By inquiring into the mechanism that the state uses to control religious expression and to prevent the infiltration of Islamist movements, we identify and study the role of mahalla as the coercive medium of control and as the vector of continuity with the pre-Soviet past and the Soviet regime rather than a tool for change.

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