Program on Central Asia

The Program on Central Asia promotes research and teaching at Harvard on the history and current affairs of five Central Asian countries — Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.

Yurt with cows grazing in the background

Song-Kol Lake, Kyrgyzstan

Isabelle DeSisto A.B./A.M. '20

We support the study of the Central Asian region using tools and insights from various fields of social sciences and humanities. Our activities include research projects, seminar series, curriculum development and course offerings, creation of digital resources for the study of the region, facilitation of research by students and visiting scholars, and cultural events. 

While the program aims at generating and disseminating knowledge and resources on Central Asia spanning different periods of its history, our main focus is on the independence period and current developments. We approach Central Asia as a region that opened up as a result of the dissolution of the USSR. The states, economies, and people of Central Asia are now an integral part of the globalized world, and developments in the region cannot be properly understood without tracing and analyzing different forms of connectivity, influence, and interdependence.

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Our Projects

Black Sea Lab

Black Sea Lab

The Black Sea Lab is an exploratory collaboration across research initiatives at the Davis Center, consisting of a series of conversations to assess scholarly trends and new avenues of inquiry related to security challenges in the Black Sea region.

Wind turbins in Kazakhstan prairie

Renewable Energy Transition in Central Asia

RETCA addresses energy security challenges and environmental problems in Central Asia by studying the governance and politics of the region’s green energy transition. 

Caspiana Logo

Caspiana

Caspiana: A Digital Toolbox for Students and Scholars of Central Asia and the South Caucasus is a resource to facilitate research on the regions east and west of the Caspian Sea. 

Apartments with satellite dishes atop and mountains in the background

Regions and China's Belt and Road Initiative

This seminar seeks to foster vibrant, comprehensive, and fruitful discussion on the ongoing transformations in geopolitics and governance triggered by the BRI. 

grassy plains and mountains

Central Asia and Caucasus Seminar

A series of public seminars on topics in the history, culture, and politics of the Central Asia region.

Sign in Uzbekistan that says, “Welcome, American friends!”

American Diplomats in Central Asia

The accounts of American diplomats who worked in the 1990s and first decade of 2000s shed light on this dramatic period of global history and reveal behind-the-scenes workings of international politics.

Related Insights

Map

Memoir: Recollecting the Benefits of Shoe Leather Diplomacy in Turkmenistan

With sweeping changes made to toponyms from 1991 to 2015, diplomats were “working in a country in which we did not know where things were,” retired U.S. Ambassador Allan Mustard writes for our Central Asia program.

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President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev visiting the Asyl Qala plant in Astana.

Trends in Kazakhstan’s Freedom and Prosperity

Political scientist Nargis Kassenova, director of our Program on Central Asia, analyzes developments in the region's richest country for the Atlantic Council, outlining three scenarios for Kazakhstan's path forward.

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Piles Of Rare Earth Elements Mined And Refined

Critical Minerals in Central Asia: Curse or Blessing?

As global powers vie for indispensable minerals in Central Asia, the region's governments must figure out how to drive growth without causing long-term damage to their economies, environment, and societies, argues REECA alum Aruzhan Meirkhanova.

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Related Events

River rapid in Almaty nature reserve
Past Event

Social Capital and Public Participation in Kazakhstan's Rural Governance

Join Gulnur Makulbayeva and Aisulu Kulbayeva for a discussion about social capital and public participation, and their impact on rural governance in Kazakhstan.

 

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A gavel with "AI" engraved on it.
Past Event

National and Global AI Governance: Perspectives from the US and Kazakhstan

This event will gather experts from academia, government, technology sectors, and policy research, offering unique insights into AI’s evolving role in international affairs and domestic governance.

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Gulnur Makulbayeva & Valerii Otiakovskii
Past Event

Foreign Oil Companies and Kazakh Civil Society, Knowledge Circulation in the Soviet Union

Join Bolashak scholar Gulnur Makulbayeva and postdoctoral fellow Valerii Otiakosvkii for the Davis Center's final Visiting Scholar Seminar of the year.


 

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