“Regionalism” is a polysemic term that represents both a subfield of international relations (IR) that studies regions of the world and a process of formation of regions themselves. Its meaning and content have evolved substantially from its inception in the 1940s to its most recent contributions in the early 21st century. More precisely, the field of regionalism was severely marked by neofunctionalism theory and an economic reading of international relations in the years of the Cold War and then embraced new contributions from post-positivist and critical theories and methodologies from the 1990s onward, which featured not only different manifestations and causes but also different normative meanings. Regionalism has progressively moved away from Europe over the years (both as a site of production of research and as an empirical case study) to explore non-European and, more widely, non-Western and postcolonial domains, challenging Eurocentric theoretical and epistemological assumptions in IR. In addition, the two subfields of comparative regionalism and interregionalism have become prominent. The field of regionalism is more dynamic than ever, developing, self-innovating, and becoming more conceptually aware, while at the same time being susceptible to weaknesses, blind spots, and potential for further improvement and deeper dialogue with IR theory.
While national governments are setting net-zero targets and drawing up strategies to reduce CO2 emissions and meet their Paris Agreement commitments, local entrepreneurs are putting words into action. This paper reviews the waste management situations and national strategies across Central Asian countries in addition to the various enterprises which have sought to improve their local environment and change people’s behaviour and attitudes towards the environment through waste-management initiatives. The case studies include a zero-waste grocery store; the collection, recycling and re-purposing of waste; and the organisation of events to encourage the reduction of consumption and associated waste. These enterprises combine their business models with social awareness programmes to promote more sustainable lifestyles and environmentally friendly habits. The micro-level focus provides an opportunity to see how entrepreneurs and activists in Central Asian cities are filling the gap left by national governments in promoting sustainability.
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