Publication Alert:
Locating Central Eurasia's Inherent Resilience. P. Kalra. Cambridge Review of International Affairs 2021. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/09557571.2021.1993136
This article aims to contextualise the inherent resilience of Central Eurasian states through the exploration of their particular history. The main purpose is to ground the ideas of resilience and capacity building in the context of the geography and ecology of Central Eurasia thus confronting the current views of the need for making these communities resilient by borrowing European, Western or global ‘best practice’ in order to achieve stability and development. This paper offers an overview of the history of the region to bring into focus the ‘local’ Central Eurasian milieu. The sophisticated tapestry of understanding, action and strategies developed over centuries has made this region resilient in the face of unpredictability caused by natural and manmade events. This paper seeks to locate how the region has consistently overcome obstacles in its long history of inhabiting a disparate space. We apply the term intercalation here to describe the emergence of a collective identity from strongly interacting ingredients that represents the inherent resilience of the region. Consequently, the focus is on the ways in which communities within the region connect, cooperate and build nodes of interaction to achieve prosperity and development.
Globalizing local understanding of fragility in Eurasia. Kalra P, Saxena SS. Globalizing local understanding of fragility in Eurasia. Journal of Eurasian Studies. September 2021. doi:10.1177/18793665211044839
Abstract The article aims to introduce the underlying motivation and conceptual underpinning to the special issue entitled “Globalizing Local Understanding of Fragility in Eurasia.” The main purpose of this article is to problematize the popular opinion and portrayal of Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan) and more generally the countries of Eurasia and the Caucasus as inherently fragile states which are politically unstable and thus on the brink of collapse. This article also seeks to question narratives of modernity that are singular and constantly out of reach for large swathes of the world’s populations because of the narrowness and hegemonic nature of the architecture of global governance. By carefully considering the ways and means through which international institutions categorize countries as fragile and/or failed, the article aims to provide the theoretical foreground for the special issue which focuses on locating inherent community resilience strategies. We explain how the non-participatory norm making behavior of international organizations privilege certain actors, largely the Global North, and simultaneously ignore the majority of Eurasian states. In other words, a demand predicated in the linear evaluation of institutions and norms dictated by global institutions clash with the Eurasian model of inherent complex adaptive capability and introduce fragility. The focus thus is on understanding the ‘local’ based on the historical analysis of development in the region, nodal points of urban development and community life, forms of social capital, and community resilience strategies in the wider Eurasian region. Keywords Central Asia, Eurasia, fragile states, international world order, nation-states, security-development complex.
Available Open Access https://doi.org/10.1177%2F18793665211044839
Book Review: Prajakti Kalra. Park Hyunhee, Soju: A global history. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2021. 281 pp.. Korean Journal of the History of Science, 43(2), 505-509. https://www.kci.go.kr/kciportal/ci/sereArticleSearch/ciSereArtiView.kci?sereArticleSearchBean.artiId=ART002750420
EVIDENCE-INFORMED DECISION-MAKING FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN UZBEKISTAN: SPATIAL DATA GCRF COMPASS Policy Paper Sinead Mowlds 8 February 2021
This policy brief provides a snapshot of the Uzbekistan’s key development challenges and highlights how spatial data could help inform the country’s development decisions. Spatial data can provide a clear visual for prioritisation and scenario-based planning. Mapping the risks associated with water insecurity can help provide an overview in the planning process, such as programmes and policies relating to disaster risk reduction and/or agriculture. Using regional data and modelling highlight the country’s risk of potentially damaging and lifethreatening river and/or urban floods occurring at least once in the next 10 years. The country’s decision-making process could be enhanced by adding geo-localised targets based on spatial data, as well as its environmental commitments (e.g., biodiversity conservation and protection of the Aral Sea and communities).
https://www.kent.ac.uk/politics/rs-gcrf-compass/Sinead-Mowlds_Spatial-data_18-Feb-2021.pdf