State-Building Process in Uzbekistan: Many Miles to Go

Abstract

This study examines the developments in post-Soviet Uzbekistan in the field of state building. With the dissolution of USSR, newly independent states struggled to function as independent nation-states since the transition efforts from Communism to post-Communism created an uncharted area for the post-Soviet societies. Transition studies gained widespread attention with the democratization of Latin America and Southern Europe. However, it became evident that current transition literature which solely focuses on democratization and marketization lacks the explanatory power on transition process of post-Soviet states due to the Soviet legacy which left its marks not only in terms of democracy and economy but also on national-identity and religious affairs. Therefore, it is argued that a quadruple transition model which focuses on democratization, marketization, stateness and nationality is more appropriate to analyze the developments in post-Soviet states. In Uzbekistan, transition process was operated by Islam Karimov until 2016. Contrary to some other Central Asian countries, Uzbekistan enjoyed a more stable transition process mostly due to Karimov's authoritarian rule. However, after more than two decades, it is difficult to consider Uzbekistan neither as a full democracy nor as a market economy. Moreover, the struggle between so-called radical Islamist groups and the government poses serious threats to the stability of the country. Lately Shavkat Mirziyoyev's presidency following the death of Karimov created a more fertile ground for further democratization of Uzbekistan. Considering these developments, this study evaluates statebuilding policies of Uzbekistan in five topics regarding nation-building, democratization, marketization, religion and foreign affairs. It is argued that despite relative stability and progress, Uzbekistan is far from being an example of successful transition.