Demokratizacija ar liberalizacija – ilgi ir sudėtingi procesai. Tai labai gerai atsispindi Centrinės Azijos regione. Čia po SSRS žlugimo, kaip ir kitos po-sovietinės valstybės taip Kirgizija bei Kazachstanas, turėjo sukurti naujas arba stipriai modifikuoti senas konstitucijas bei rinkimų sistemas. Oficialiai abi šalys pasirinko demokratinius režimus. Tai pažymima abiejų valstybių konstitucijų pirmosiose pastraipose. Tačiau reali valstybių politika iki šiol koncentruojasi ties jų lyderiais ir „klanais“ bei atskirais regionais. Aptariamose valstybėse de Jure ir de facto demokratija įkūnijama įvairiais būdais. Iš principo esminės demokratinės teisės, tokios kaip: žodžio laisvė, spaudos laisvė, religijos ir bendravimo laisvės yra uždraustos arba iš dalies suvaržytos. Šiame darbe bus pristatomos skirtingos demokratinės tranzicijos teorijos, bei jų taikymo galimybė Kazachstano ir Kirgizijos atvejais. Peržvelgiama ne tik teorijų raida, bet ir pateikiama demokratizacijos ir liberalizacijos klasifikacija. Trumpai pristatomi abiejų valstybių istorinės raidos ir dabartinis kontekstai. Darbe dėmesys labiausiai sutelkiamas rinkimų sistemos ir konstitucijų formavimuisi pokomunistinių laikotarpiu bei tolimesnei jų raidai. Išskiriami atskiri valstybių valdymo atvejai, kuriuos įteisino kintančios konstitucijos ar rinkimų įstatymai. / Democratization and liberalization are very elaborate processes. This is very obvious in the region of Central Asia. Just after collapse of USSR countries like Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan had to create new or completely modify old constitutions and electoral laws. Officially both countries had chosen democratic systems. That is also marked in the first articles of their constitutions. However real politics in these countries is based on their leaders, “clans” and separate regions preferences. De jure and de facto democracies are accomplished in many different ways. Traditionally democratic freedoms such as freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of religion and freedom of association – while provided for in the constitutions - are suppressed and/or severely limited. Several democratic transition theories and their adoption in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan will be presented in this study. It will be overviewed not only their development but also marked different classification. Most of the study will be concentrated into electoral systems development and development of each country’s constitutions after collapse of USSR. It will be marked different types of ruling systems, which have provided each electoral law or constitution amendments.

Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, there has been much concern among observers and analysts around the world over what role Islam is to play in the political, economic and social spheres of life in newly independent Central Asian states. Traditionally, Islam is the dominant faith, but had been strongly influenced by the Soviet atheist ideology during the last seven decades before Central Asia became independent in 1991. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, some observers in the West depicted Central Asia as an extension of the Middle East, invoking fears that Islamic fundamentalism was to pose a serious threat to the stability in the region of Central Asia. In this thesis I analyzed the dynamism of Islamic revival in Central Asia&rsquo / s two post-Soviet states of Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan through the prism of the imported phenomenon of &lsquo / Islamic fundamentalism&rsquo / . The thesis demonstrates that Islam in Central Asia is a natural process determined primarily by internal socio-economic and political conditions and not influenced by outside forces. In order to support this argument, I approached the problem by analyzing both external factors and internal conditions. The concluding argument is that even if Islam is to be radicalized it will be because of internal factors, such as authoritarianism, violation of human rights and repression of moderate manifestations of Islam from within, rather than because of the influence of Islamic fundamentalist forces from abroad.

This thesis analyzes the relationship between NGOs and the democratization process in post-Soviet Kyrgyzstan. The conditions shaping both the civil society and political development are analysed in the light of findings obtained through in-depth interviews with NGO leaders in Kyrgyzstan. Despite relative freedom for NGOs, civil society in Kyrgyzstan is still in its infancy. Soviet era conception of roles attributed to state and society still persist especially among the governmental officials and general population. Despite the problems of building a democratic regime in Kyrgyzstan, NGOs have achieved a certain level of development. Through building functioning state institutions together with a lively political society primarily including political parties, the potential of NGOs for democratic development can be more fully utilized.

This dissertation is about social mobilizations in rural Kyrgyzstan from 2010-2015. Following a constructivist approach, I aim to answer a puzzling question in regard to multiple but rarely sustainable protests in this global periphery: Under what conditions can provisional episodes of mobilization be transformed into sustained mobilization? In particularly, I consider Eric Hirsch’s insight that the commitment of participants of mobilization to the cause is formed within collective instances, i.e. ‘group processes’, and I employ it in the Kyrgyzstani context of generalized distrust and discredited corrupt politics. I explore the conditions in which participants of episodes of mobilization create trust in organizers and into the cause of mobilization. I investigate these conditions in two case studies: one concerns a fragmented labour force at a state-owned gas and oil company in which, in the course of four years, workers succeeded to empower themselves as a collective actor within the group processes of collective learning and collective decision-making. The second tells a story about a fragmented rural community that goes against mining operations but sees the decline of an initially successful mobilization within group processes of monitoring. These findings point to the presence of a specific ‘pre-condition’ for any lasting mobilization: trust between organizers and participants of episodes of mobilization must be established in the process of monitoring the commitment to collective interests. With this insight I contribute to the literature on social movements and mobilizations that tends to take commitment and trust as pre-established resources. Furthermore, this work intervenes in the ongoing discussion on social change in the former Soviet Union. First, my observations of the difficult formation of protest groups lead, surprisingly, to the conclusion that the weak state produces a weak society. Second, due to the fragmented and localized nature of these mobilizations, social and political change in Kyrgyzstan is most likely to occur at the local level.

The disintegration of the Soviet Union caused the dramatic changes in the entire post-Soviet area. The formation and development of the new independent states have often led to many problems that have been linked with ethnic or socio-economic, and political problems in general. In this paper the post-Soviet development and its comparison in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan is outlined from a social, economic, and political point of view. The aim of this thesis is to identify the main factors that influenced this development and how these factors contributed into the current situation in both countries. At the end, these factors are discussed and there is a discussion about the probable direction of the future development. Key words: Central Asia, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, post-Soviet, development, comparison

The thesis deals with the importance of water resources and their influence on political development with the example of Kyrgyzstan. The main objective was to find out the role of water resources in domestic politics, how water influences the relationship between Kyrgyzstan and its neighbors, and whether water resources are of interest to the world's superpowers. Geopolitical analysis was carried out on three levels. At national level, water scarcity, uneven distribution and obsolete water systems are a cause of civil discontent. Corruption in the state sphere negates the possibility of modernization of existing water facilities. Water management is dependent on non-governmental associations and foreign financial assistance. At regional level, there is constant tension between Kyrgyzstan, where all the important rivers of the region rise, and the states lying downstream of these rivers. The cause of this tension is different demands of individual states on water use. International treaties address the situation, but are mostly non-functional in the long term. At the supra-regional level, the interests of especially Russia and China collide. Both superpowers seek to prevent US influence in the region. At the same time, they gain a dominant position in Kyrgyzstan in the economic and security spheres....

Pollination-dependent fruit trees grown in home gardens play an important role in the agricultural based economy of Central Asian countries, yet little is known about the status of pollinator communities, the cultivated plant composition or the factors that influence management practices in Kyrgyz home garden agroecosystems. As agricultural systems are human created and managed, a logical approach to their study blends anthropological and ecological methods, an ethnoecological approach. Over three years, I investigated how species richness and abundance of Hymenoptera, cultivated plants, and home garden management were related using quantitative and qualitative methods in the Issyk-kul Man and Biosphere reserve. Structured surveys were undertaken with heads of households using a random sample stratified by village. Gardens were then mapped with participation of household members to inventory edible species in gardens, most of which are pollinator-dependent, and to compare home garden diversity as reported by respondents during interviews. Apple diversity was studied to the variety level to understand respondents’ classification system in the context of in situ agrobiodiversity conservation. Household members identified 52 edible plant species when mapping the garden, compared with 32 reported when interviewed. The proportion of plant species received from others through exchange and the number of plots cultivated significantly explained the variation in edible plant diversity among gardens. Insects were sampled in gardens and orchards to determine potential pollinator community composition and the effect of different management practices on Hymenoptera richness and abundance. I collected 756 Hymenoptera individuals (56 bee; 12 wasp species); 12 species were new records for Kyrgyzstan or within Kyrgyzstan. Economic pressures to intensify cultivation could impact management practices that currently promote diversity. A home garden development initiative was undertaken to study management practice improvement. Participants in the initiative had higher adoption rates than controls of management practices that improve long-term yield, ecological sustainability and stability of home gardens. Home gardens, as currently managed, support abundant and diverse pollinator communities and have high cultivated plant diversity with few differences in community composition between garden management types.

In the context of changing climate retreat of mountain glaciers occurs at many places on the planet. One of the consequences is emergence or increase of the outburst risk at lakes situated in front of the glacier terminus. Flood caused by the glacial lake outburst often appear suddenly and can threaten settlements in lower parts of a valley. In the Kyrgyz mountains of Tien Shan there are about 350 lakes at risk of outburst, long-term monitored and dangerous locations are presented in this work. The highest attention is paid to Adygine area where several lakes of different genetic type and age can be found. The largest lake of the locality, the Upper Adygine lake, is subjected to more detailed survey aiming to asses its hydrological regime and to confirm or disprove speculation about outburst possibility of this lake. Keywords: glacial lake, hydrological regime, glacier retreat, Tien Shan, Kyrgyzstan

Bilateral relations between the Central Asian nations of Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan have developed acrimonious tendencies since Kyrgyzstan's latest political revolution in 2010. This thesis studies the actual mechanisms and bodies conducting statecraft while also examining the impetus and nature of relations for the past seven years. Content analysis of governmental bodies and legislation, bloc protocols, journalistic articles, and interviews conducted by various media outlets were utilized to develop a comprehensive understanding of how and why these countries cooperate or attempt to influence each other. The data gathered in this analysis posits that the presidential administrations of both countries, rather than respective government ministries, continue to wield tremendous influence in bilateral relations. Moreover, the very nature of Kyrgyzstani politics is antithetical to Kazakhstan's authoritarian model thus initiating punitive border measures by the Kazakhstani government. Keywords Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, International Relations, EEU, Borders, Central Asia

Ethnicity in China - Who are the Hui and Who are the Dungan? The thesis has three main objectives: (1) to develop a concept appropriate for the comparison of different ethnicities, (2) to use this concept to identify differences of ethnicity in China, and (3) to analyse these differences in the cases of the Huis and the Dungans. The second section postulates the concept of ethnicity as a secondary identity, and this becomes the main theoretical and methodological frame of the work. Six primary identities and dimensions, that together form the components of ethnicity, are discussed. Policy, which is interpreted as a context of ethnicity, and (ethno)culture, understood as an expression of ethnicity, are not seen as components. The concept enables the comparison of distinct perceptions (emic) and qualitative atributes (etic) of ethnicity from six main perspectives. The third chapter is focused on ethnicity and the ethnic policies of China. The central objective is to define a Chinese official category minzu, its position in the context of European concepts of ethnicity and nation, and its comparison with the concept of nation in the Soviet tradition, which represents minzu's template. Minzu is interpreted, unlike most other concepts, as an ethnic group rather than a nation, and is seen as a political...