Understanding Cross-Border Conflict in Post-Soviet Central Asia: the Case of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan
Connections: The Quarterly Journal ISSN 1812-1098, e-ISSN 1812-2973 Toktomushev, Connections QJ 17, no. 1 (2018): 21-41 https://doi.org/10.11610/Connections.17.1.02 Research Article Understanding Cross-Border Conflict in Post-Soviet Central Asia: The Case of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan Kemel Toktomushev University of Central Asia, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, http://www.ucentralasia.org Abstract: Despite the prevalence of works on the ‘discourses of danger’ in the Ferghana Valley, which re-invented post-Soviet Central Asia as a site of intervention, the literature on the conflict potential in the cross-border areas of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan is fairly limited. Yet, the number of small-scale clashes and tensions on the borders of the Batken and Isfara regions has been growing steadily. Accordingly, this work seeks to con- tribute to the understanding of the conflict escalations in the area and identify factors that aggravate tensions between the communities. In par- ticular, this article focuses on four variables, which exacerbate tensions and hinder the restoration of a peaceful social fabric in the Batken-Isfara region: the unresolved legacies of the Soviet past, inefficient use of natu- ral resources, militarization of borders, and lack of evidence-based poli- cymaking. Keywords: Central Asia, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Ferghana, conflict, bor- ders. Introduction The significance and magnitude of violence and conflict potential in the con- temporary Ferghana Valley has been identified as one of the most prevalent themes in the study of post-Soviet Central Asia. This densely populated region has been long portrayed as a site of latent inter-ethnic conflict. Not only is the Ferghana Valley a region, where three major ethnic groups—Kyrgyz, Uzbeks and Tajiks—co-exist in a network of interdependent communities, sharing buri- Partnership for Peace Consortium of Defense Creative Commons Academies and Security Studies Institutes BY-NC-SA 4.0 Kemel Toktomushev, Connections QJ 17, no.
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