Securitization of an Imaginary Threat as an Authoritarian Legitimation Instrument: The Cases of Belarus and Uzbekistan. July 2021 GUID: 2458329A DCU ID: 19108281 CU ID: 22199053 Presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the 
 Degree of International Master in Security, Intelligence and Strategic Studies Word Count: 22 451 Supervisor: Donnacha Ó Beacháin Date of Submission: 31.07.2021 Abstract This research explores how the securitization of imaginary and exaggerated threats is used as a legitimation instrument in hegemonic authoritarian regimes. Approaching the task through the cases studies, this thesis will situate the securitization practice within the performance mechanism of authoritarian legitimation and apply it in two hegemonic autocratic regimes - Uzbekistan of Islam Karimov and Belarus of Alexander Lukashenko. This dissertation picks qualitative research design. Methodologically, discourse and content analysis will be used to test the theory that will be developed in this project. The arguments presented in the thesis draw upon the primary sources such as speeches, official statements, and memoirs. The dissertation will also refer to the secondary sources in order to synthesise arguments provided by the existing literature related to the issue in question. This research project...

This thesis explores the reasons behind the stagnation in the transition to democracy in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. According to their constitutions, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan are democracies. In actuality, however, there is little evidence to support that these are democratic systems. These states' post-Soviet constitutions outline them as democracies - yet they lack a free press; freedom of association is suppressed; religious freedom is limited; and free speech is constrained as well. While these two countries hold popular elections, much of their electoral processes are under the control of the executive branch of government - calling into question whether or not Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan really hold fair and competitive elections. In sum, in both of these states, democracy is de jure rather than de facto. Why is this so? Why are Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan not the democracies in practice that they are on paper? Many scholars and policy-makers blame the stagnation in these states' democratic transitions on the firm hands used by the countries' presidents to maintain their current power and even to increase it. Other scholars point out that Central Asia has never been democratic and thus does not know how to be so. These scholars refer, in particular, to the region's history as part of the Russian Empire and later, as part of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). Using frameworks drawn from Dahl's Polyarchy (1971) and Huntington's The Third Wave (1991), this thesis finds that not only are Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan straying from their constitutional democratic starting points, no single factor is to blame for the stagnation in the transitions to democracy in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. Rather, it is the combination of multiple factors - both internal and external - that provides the most comprehensive explanation of these states' failure to become full-fledged democracies. Combining the elements of strong dictator-like presidents with a lack of democratic history is but the tip of the iceberg. Internal factors such as political culture and external factors such as the influence of the international community also play major roles in the current state of affairs in these Central Asian states.

MACHAŇ, Jaroslav. Internet censorship in Belarus and other selected post-communist countries postkomunistických zemích. Thesis. Thesis adviser: Ing. Martin Souček, Ph.D. Abstrakt This thesis aims to familiarize the reader with the issue of Internet censorship in several Eastern European countries, where the level of censorship is especially poignant. It is intended primarily for people who want to study this theme matter more. For them this thesis is a gateway to this phenomenon. It has to show what technologies and methods in today's world are used to censor the Internet and how individual states censor access. The thesis also deals with the procedures for measuring the level of censorship in the restrained deployed States. It discusses the technical aspects of these processes and their functioning so that you, the reader, which is not purely technically based, took the most understood the information and communication. Number of countries that restrict access to the content of the World Wide Web is currently a constantly increasing and final number of these states is growing. Based on the arguments that are often considered to be a compelling and powerful as "preserving cultural norms and religious values" and "protecting children from pornography and abuse" implements many states have extensive filtering...

Diplomová práce Nedemokratické režimy, neformální instituce a sdílení moci se věnuje autoritářským institucím a problému sdílení moci v nedemokratických režimech ve vztahu k autoritářským parlamentům ve středoasijských republikách. Konkrétně se zabývá úlohou autoritářských parlamentů v neopatrimoniálních režimech a jejich vlivem na sdílení moci. Abychom pochopili efekt a funkci středoasijských parlamentů, práce analyzuje jak neformální, tak formální instituce v politickém režimu a principy jejich interakce. Nejprve představuje hlavní teoretické přístupy k autoritářským institucím a parlamentům. Další části se zabývají Střední Asií a zvláště popisují případy Uzbekistánu a Kyrgyzstánu. Klíčová slova: Střední Asie Neopatrimonialismus Kyrgyzstán Uzbekistán Neformální instituce Autoritářské Instituce

The thesis deals with the topic of the development of presidential political clans in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. It covers the entire rule of the first two presidents (Nursultan Nazarbayev and Islam Karimov) from their ascension to their posts shortly after the dissolution of the Soviet Union and declarations of independence of both states, and also the current rule of their respective successors (Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Shavkat Mirziyoyev). It predominantly focuses on the power and social status of their closest relatives in these clan- based structures. Special attention was paid to their potential roles in state affairs after the resignation (or death) of their patrons.

This work focuses on the influence of terror, extremism, trafficking and corruption on the regional security of Central Asia, with a particular emphasis on Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan is regarded as the most stable and financially developed state in Central Asia, yet domestic and regional stability are threatened by the rise in extremism, narcotics trafficking, institutional corruption and acts of terrorism. The challenges of trafficking and extremism within the region originated from outside of Central Asia. Foreign organizations and ideologies are significant actors in progression of regional instability. Government response to these challenges can perpetuate or stymie the aforementioned threats to regional security. Repressive regimes inadvertently contribute to the propaganda of the non-state foes. A prominent solution is the international program referred to as border management. This program aims to support border security while also promoting economic growth and ensuring the protection of human rights. Improved borders promotes regional security, economic growth can potentially undermine the growth of corruption and human rights protection can undermine a large part of extremist propaganda.

After 1991 five countries emerged out of the fall of the Soviet Union to create a new region: Central Asia. No longer dominated by Soviet rule these countries fought to overcome barriers to independence and struggled to be seen by the international community as developed countries. However, these countries were far from developed and had to pay the high cost of human rights to get what they desired. This study researches and analyzes how Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan have traded the rights of women to achieve a placebo of development. Two of the largest violations of women’s rights that have manifested because of the government’s direct actions are domestic abuse and sex trafficking. The government’s structure and leadership, the economic opportunity for women, and the cultural acceptance have all been orchestrated by the government to create a society where women’s rights are unheard of. The actions taken by the three governments seem extensive on paper and international covenants yet are never implemented to help society. Through this research women’s rights in the Central Asian countries of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan are examined through the prevalence and acceptance of both domestic violence and sex trafficking. The international conventions, domestic policies, and actions taken by political leaders are examined to better understand the underlying reasons that contribute to the persistence of these attitudes.

This thesis focuses on the ideological workings of Germany’s main public diplomacy organization, the Goethe-Institut. Drawing upon his experience doing fieldwork at the Goethe-Institut in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, and employing discourse and semiotic analysis, the author identifies four ideological currents within the organization. Relating these currents to four specific interest groups for which the Goethe-Institut is a strategic point of operation, and examining their complex interrelation, allows for an analysis of how their interplay at once constructs, deconstructs and reconstructs the notion of the German Nation.

This thesis analyses local forms of civil society practised in contemporary Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan and provides a common thread on which to base a Central Asian understanding of civil society. I look to find out factors and constituents, which on the surface might be different from a classical liberal concept of civil society. The thesis applies a wider anthropological framework, which sees civil society as a broad network of social relationships, including traditional forms of associational life that can be relatively independent of the state. The study draws upon a multi-locale ethnography in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan including in-depth and focus group interviews, participant observations, case studies, and archival research. I have investigated associations whose activities are concerned with reciprocal relations within society based on community solidarity, self-help, and mutual trust. These include professional associations, trade unions, ethno-cultural associations, religious organisations, courtyard clubs, the traditional Uzbek neighbourhood institution of mahalla, and informal practices of gap and khashar. While arguing that the meaning of civil society depends on context, the study has found that traditional elements of the preserved social fabric in Central Asian societies are reflected in today's networks of individuals. The thesis has generated knowledge on how local forms of associational life define the civil sphere by shaping social organisation, solidarity and mobilisation. Through empirical understanding of the public space, formal and informal networks that bond people together, we can locate wider ethnographic differences between not only the original and Central Asian concepts of civil society but also between two local cultures of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) first came into being as a result of border negotiations between Russia and China but evolved shortly thereafter into more than this. A regional organization comprised of Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and China the SCO’s mandate now encompasses trade and security. Most secondary literature on this organization tends to detail the interests of its constituent members, while overlooking the historical relationships underlying the SCO’s growth and evolution. This thesis argues that Russia’s long-standing relationships with the states of Central Asia created the conditions making the SCO a necessary tool of Russian foreign policy, while Moscow’s relations with China and the US have driven the development of the group. It concludes that the SCO has become the most viable of Central Asia’s regional organizations because it has effectively resolved contradictions and conflicts in Russia’s relationships with the other SCO members.