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Abstract
A major debate among scholars studying Central Asian societies concerns the structure of social and political networks in the region. Still unresolved is the issue of whether to define such networks in terms of ‘clans’, ‘regionalism’, or personal networks. This article, based on data collected during fieldwork in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, attempts to understand these social and political networks. It suggests that networks are very complex. The networks in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan draw on various loyalties including ties of family, friendship, work, education, and patron-client relationships. They are neither purely regional nor purely clan-based. Personal networks, factions, and self-interest play important roles. At the elite level, networks more closely resemble patron-client networks, which may or may not include regional or kinship ties. Among ordinary people, such ties tend to be based on localism, kinship, and/or patronage relationships.
Acknowledgements
I am indebted to many who read, commented on an earlier draft of this article, and provided advice and support, including William Fierman, Nazif Shahrani, Henry Hale, Gardner Bovington, Günay Göksu Özdoğan, Büşra Ersanlı, Deniz Kandiyoti and David Bell. I also thank the anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments. Any mistakes are of course entirely my responsibility.
Notes
This study is based partly on library research and partly on interviews. Between June 2003 and February 2004, I conducted 192 interviews with elites and non-elites in Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. In Uzbekistan I worked in Tashkent, Samarkand, the Fergana region (Andijan, Kokand, Fergana, Namangan), and Syrdarya. In Tajikistan I conducted fieldwork in Dushanbe and Qurghonteppa. I interviewed both elites and non-elites. My interviews lasted between one and four hours. The questions were open-ended. I also gathered data from the national libraries of Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
Author's interviews in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan both with ordinary people and native sociologists, July 2003–February 2004.
Based on author's experiences in the region and on interviews with researchers and sociologists in Tashkent, Dushanbe and Qurghonteppa.
Author's interviews in Fergana Valley, Samarkand and Tashkent in Uzbekistan and in Dushanbe and Qurghonteppa in Tajikistan, July 2003–February 2004.
Author's interview with a resident in Qurghonteppa, Tajikistan, January 2004.
Author's interviews with people in Besharik, Kokand and Fergana, in Uzbekistan, September 2003.
Author's interviews with people in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, January 2004.
Author's interview with a resident in Fergana, Uzbekistan, October 2003.
Author's interviews with university students and university professors in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
The suffix -lik means ‘from’ in Uzbek. Samarkandlik means from Samarkand, Ferganalik means from Fergana and so on. In Tajik the suffix which has the same meaning is -i, such as Samarkandi, Kulyabi, Garmi, and so on.
Author's interview with a native sociologist and researcher in Tashkent, July 2003.
Author's interview with two native sociologists who conducted research on immigrants from Tajikistan to Russia, Dushanbe, January 2004. See also Olimova and Bosc Citation(2003).
Author's interview with one of the prominent parliamentarians in the National Assembly of Uzbekistan, Tashkent, September 2003.
Author's interview with a local government official from Fergana, Uzbekistan, September 2003.
Author's interview with a former advisor in the presidential apparatus in Tashkent, July 2003.
Author's interview with a former advisor in the presidential apparatus in Tashkent, August 2003.
Author's interview with the head of one of the committees in the parliament in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, January 2004.
Author's interview with the deputy chairman of one of the parties in Tajikistan, Dushanbe, January 2004.
Author's interview with an academician in Tajikistan Academy of Sciences in Dushanbe, January 2004.
Author's interviews with political actors, government and state officials, and party leaders in Tajikistan.
Author's interview with a Tajik journalist and researcher in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, January 2004.
Author's interview with a ‘Kulyabi’ political scientist in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, January 2004.
Author's interview with a Tajik academician, Dushanbe, Tajikistan, January 2004,
Author's interviews with a native NGO leader and a former local politician, Kokand, Uzbekistan, September 2003 and two political scientists in Dushanbe in Tajikistan, January 2004.
Author's interview with one of the Uzbek academicians, Tashkent, July 2003.
Author's interview with a former advisor in the presidential apparatus, Tashkent, July 2003.
Author's interviews with various informants in Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.
From author's interviews in Fergana and Tashkent with local and central politicians, Uzbekistan, 2003.
Author's interview with a politician, a former presidential apparatus member in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, September 2003.
Ismail Jurabekov was a prominent politician from Samarkand and considered the head of the Samarkand group. He was one of the most powerful figures in Uzbekistan until he was dismissed from power after criminal allegations against him in 2004.
Author's interview with a former advisor in the presidential apparatus. Tashkent, August 2003.
In Uzbek gap means talk, conversation; osh means meal.
Author's interview with a native sociologist and researcher in Uzbekistan, August 2003.
On patronage networks see Scott Citation(1972).
According to some scholars, the patronage system in Uzbekistan recently began to acquire a narrower structure, centred around the president himself, his family and close associates. On this point see Ilkhamov Citation(2007).