Structural violence and horizontal inequalities: conflict in southern Kyrgyzstan

ABSTRACT

This article, which offers a new theoretical explanation of the violence between Kyrgyz and Uzbeks that emerged in southern Kyrgyzstan in 2010, explores the importance of historical legacies through structure and grievance-based theoretical approaches to conflict. In so doing, it argues that structural violence born in the pre-Soviet era fueled the 1990 riots, persisted and generated contradictions for Osh Kyrgyz and Osh Uzbeks during the Soviet and post-Soviet eras, and ultimately caused the 2010 riots. The article draws on existing scholarship, primary sources, Russian-language newspapers, and data collected during fieldwork in Osh. Its main contribution is to further develop the theoretical literature on conflict by showing that economic and demographic horizontal inequalities can be just as explosive as political inequalities. The article concludes with a discussion of what persisting contradictions and post-conflict coping strategies reveal about contemporary social dynamics and future conflict in the region.

KEYWORDS:

• Kyrgyzstan
• Osh
• ethnic conflict
• identity
• women
• gender

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1 On 23 May 2012, President Atambaev said the following: “The roots of all ethnic conflicts lie in nationalism. Today, many raise the question: what caused the June events of 2010? The manifestation of nationalism is, without a doubt, the reason” (Ibraev 2012; Meterova 2012).

2 For more on the history of Soviet nation building see Hirsch (2005).

3 40,000 people were on an apartment waitlist in Osh a few years after the conflict (Amelin 1993, 100).

4 Obtaining higher education in Uzbek had been problematic because Kyrgyz is the language of state universities, and because it became difficult to pursue education in Uzbekistan (Liu 2012, 54–55).

5 A kairylman is entitled to education, Kyrgyz or Russian-language study, job placement assistance, pensions, benefits, and interest-free loans for building or purchasing a home (Zakon Kyrgyzskoi Respubliki …  2007, Article 15).

6 Even in 1999, after Russian out-migration had shifted demographics in favor of the titular nationality, Kyrgyz were a bare majority (52%) of Bishkek’s population (Naselenie Kyrgyzstana …  2000, 78).

7 According to a December 2010 Kyrgyz Ministry of Health report, 64% of 418 fatalities were Uzbek and 25% were Kyrgyz (A Chronicle of Violence … 2012).

8 Article 10 establishes Kyrgyz as the state language, and Russian as the official language (Конституция Кыргызской Республики … 2013, 75).

9 “Prikaz Ministerstva Obrazovaniia I Nauki Kyrgyzskoi Respubliki … ” 2013.

10 This organization helps primarily female entrepreneurs recover losses related to 2010. Author’s interview, 21 July 2015. The director of crisis center Ak Zhurok concurs with Legal Perspective. Author’s interview, 23 July 2015.

11 Author’s interview, 24 July 2015.

12 Author’s interview, 23 July 2015.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the University of Vermont [Humanities Center Summer Research Award, Louis Rakin Foundation Award, Small Grant Research Award].