Fellows Research

Pre-colonial Central Asia was politically fragmented, characterized by a patchwork of competing tribal loyalties, kingdoms, and city-states. Nevertheless, territories now encompassed by modern states such as Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, and India shared a common Islamic sect (Sunnism) as well as Persian high culture. Islamic scholars (the ulama) invested in a consistently eclectic skillset – Islamic law, poetry, sufism, astrology, etc. – to traverse a social continuum that permeated even the colonial borders established starting in the 1860s.

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Islamic Scholars and Persian High Culture in Central Asia: 1747-1917 (396 KB pdf)

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Migration is one of the very few options that citizens of Tajikistan have to be employed; however, this option comes with abuses of their rights. Organizing is an important way through which migrants can support each other, stay informed about their rights and obligations, and advocate for better protection of their rights by holding duty-bearers accountable. Despite the potential benefits of unions to advocate for improved conditions, migrants from Tajikistan do not organize.

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Together on the Move: Organizing Among Tajik Migrants in Russia for Protection of Their Rights (439 KB pdf)

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Throughout Kazakhstan, many Soviet landmarks, buildings, and memorials survive, and their continued existence poses questions about the significance and contribution of the Soviet Union to Kazakh national identity and independence (Gentile 2004; Adams 2010). Likewise, the absence of Soviet landmarks in certain areas, raises questions about efforts taken to de-Sovietize the landscape. For three months I conducted research aimed toward understanding the nature of Kazakh nationalism in a post-Soviet landscape.

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Soviet Memorial Landscapes in Kazakhstan (470 KB pdf)

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Fifteen hundred years ago, the first attempt at a legal transplant - the export of the Roman Corpus Justus Civilis – took place. Since that time, myriad states have sought to strengthen their legal institutions through the import of foreign bodies of law. Despite the lengthy history of this practice and the central role it played in both the law and development movements and the reform of the transition economies, we know very little as to why attempts at reform succeed or failed. What conditions facilitate successful legal reform?

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Imported Institutions: The Political Economy of Legal Reform in China and the Former Soviet Union (514 KB pdf)

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My study explores the forging of Russian nationalism and patriotism in the crucible of the Great War. I examine how the Russian government, Russian Orthodox church, and various groups within the empire defined and promoted patriotism and Russian national identity (both "russkii and rossiiskii") by looking at censorship and propaganda, court cases, mobilization campaigns, efforts to honor and memorialize soldiers, and exclusion of the "unworthy" from the national community.

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"A Hard Country to Love"-Patriotism and National Identity in Russia's Great War (608 KB pdf)

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This research demonstrates that in the period from 1988 through 2012 the content of the Armenian national identity has been contested. Manifested in liberal and illiberal forms this contestation triggered “cultural wars” among co-ethnics and organized diverging political projects of remembering the Genocide and territorial aspirations in Karabagh. Given Armenia’s semi-consolidated authoritarian regime, data suggests that if the public’s identity preferences are overlooked, identity contestation can evoke “cultural wars” seeking alternative means of expressions.

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National Identity Contestation and Democracy in Post-Soviet Armenia (642 KB pdf)

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What impact does the peaceful overthrow of an authoritarian or semi-authoritarian regime have on political stability and democratic development? Using Georgia as a case study, this project examines the impact of the “electoral revolution” model, employed in the 2003 Rose Revolution, on opposition party tactics.

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Political Opposition Tactics in Post-Rose Revolution Georgia (500 KB pdf)

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In North America, it is common to think of abortion as a matter of moral deliberation. But who are the actors who put the issue on the agenda? In contemporary Russia, abortion becomes contentious in the context of post-socialist religious revival and publicized concern about a “demographic crisis” with low birth rates and decreased life expectancy. Through ethnographic field research among Russian Orthodox activists in Kazan’ and Nizhnii Novgorod, complemented by archival research on Soviet discourses on abortion, I investigated how the church seeks to shape public opinion on reproduction.

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Russian Orthodox Anti-Abortion Activism and the Soviet Past (469 KB pdf)

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Far from being an exotic, isolated Central Asian country, post-independence Tajikistan presents a dynamic society at the complex confluence of local, regional and international forces of change. The present research is an ethnographic attempt to explore and study how these forces of change affect the everyday practice of languages in various registers of communication and interaction from street conversations to foreign digital media consumption and to the intelligentsia’s plans for the future of Tajiki script.

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Language and Globalization in Post-Independence Tajikistan (293 KB pdf)

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My research focused on the Afghanistan factor in Tajikistan. In particular, I have analyzed the actual and perceived threats that emanate from Afghanistan and how this plays a role in Tajikistan’s foreign relations – especially in regards to Russia and the United States. I have surveyed the available secondary sources on this issue and supplemented this with interviews and informal discussions in Dushanbe as well as in the city of Qurghonteppa in the far south.

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Perceptions of the Afghanistan Threat in Tajikistan (458 KB pdf)

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