The Resurgence of Central Asia Islam or Nationalism?

A seminal introduction to the rise of Central Asia, covering Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan

The Resurgence of Central Asia is Ahmed Rashid’s seminal study of the states that emerged in the aftermath of the breakup of the Soviet Union: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. All have Muslim majorities and ancient histories but are otherwise very different. Rashid’s book, now with a new introduction by the author examining some of the crucial political developments since its first publication in 1994, provides entrée to this little-known but geopolitically important region. Rashid gives a history of each country, including its incorporation into Tsarist Russia, to the present day, provides basic socioeconomic information, and explains the diverse political situations. He focuses primarily on the underlying issues confronting these societies: the legacy of Soviet rule, ethnic tensions, the position of women, the future of Islam, the question of nuclear proliferation, and the fundamental choices over economic strategy, political system, and external orientation that lie ahead.

Ahmed Rashid has been writing about Pakistan, Afghanistan, Central Asia, and the Middle East since 1979. He began his career at the Far Eastern Economic Review, where he was a correspondent for twenty-three years. Since then his work has appeared in the Financial Times, The New York Times, The New York Review of Books, El Mundo, and BBC Online, as well as in publications throughout Pakistan. His books, which have been translated into more than forty languages, include the best-selling Taliban: Militant Islam, Oil and Fundamentalism in Central Asia (2000); Jihad: The Rise of Militant Islam in Central Asia (2002); Descent into Chaos: The U.S. and the Disaster in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Central Asia (2008); and most recently, Pakistan on the Brink: The Future of America, Pakistan, and Afghanistan (2012). A former member of the board of advisers for the International Committee of the Red Cross, Rashid has also been an informal adviser to governments and organizations (including the United Nations) whose aim is to bring peace to Afghanistan. He currently serves on the board of directors of the Committee to Protect Journalists, is an adviser to Human Rights Watch, and has been involved in the Lahore Literary Festival since its launch in 2012. In 2001 he used a portion of his book royalties to found the Open Media Fund of Afghanistan, which has assisted in the launch of a dozen newspapers and magazines in that country. To read more of his work, please visit https://www.facebook.com/ahmedrashidpage.