You might have heard about Central Asia: that it is locked between Russia, China, and Iran; that these five “-stans” are home to around 74 million people of various ethnic backgrounds, maybe you’ve heard of its magnificent natural beauty too. The question is, then, what is it about Central Asia that makes it of such great geopolitical interest to powers like Russia, the United States and China? There is actually a lot. For Russia, Central Asia sits in its main sphere of influence. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, four Central Asian states have retained political, economic, and...
After #MeToo: A methodology to engage men in conversations that you probably are not familiar with yet
After the #MeToo campaign bursted in the spotlight, many men wanted to get involved in this work. However, many did not know where to start. One way was to post stories of men from all over the world about their own experiences of violence using various hashtags. This shows that men, as a group, began to wonder: “how could I personally contribute to the existence of such violations that the #MeToo campaign seeks to reveal and address?” MÄN, a Swedish organization, in collaboration with other similar minded organizations and institutions, along with CAG, endeavored in tackling this challenge by...
Youth Workers from Sweden and Poland visit Kyrgyzstan
“Never doubt that a group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” – once Margaret Mead said. Such a meaningful statement, isn’t it? We believe that changes come through people; open discussions about challenging issues, exchanging ideas on making the world a better place for each and every one of us. Central Asia Solidarity Groups, (Sweden) together with its partner organizations Novi Ritm (Kyrgyzstan) and KobieTY (Poland) organized mobility of youth workers that involved more than 20 participants in Kyrgyzstan in January this year. The purpose of the mobility...
Authoritarianism in Central Asia: Current State and Tendencies of the Regimes
Does authoritarianism exist in Central Asia? Well, the simple answer is yes, but it’s a bit more complicated than that. On paper, the countries within Central Asia have put together governments that tick most of the check-boxes of a full-fledged democracy. They have elections, checks and balances between parts of the government, and constitutions that exercise due diligence in positively framing human rights. But it doesn’t take much to realize that most of these governments aren’t functioning as they’re supposed to. A cursory Google search about countries in the region will bring up a deluge of articles detailing everything...