Reversing brain drain is the key to Uzbekistan’s future
The COVID-19 pandemic threatens economies and has disrupted societies everywhere. To recover, restore, and rebuild, every country will need to lean on expertise and the very best of its human…
Articles, Briefings and Essays
The views expressed in the articles are those of each respective author and do not necessarily reflect the views or position of the Foreign Policy Centre.
The perils of rebuilding Uzbekistan: The rise of glass and glitter
Central Asian countries have attempted to build their nation branding strategies through redesigning their capital cities. The process can be widely observed in former Soviet republics with Kazakhstan that built…
Media landscape in Uzbekistan
Scorched earth: media in Uzbekistan between 2005 and 2016 Under the rule of President Islam Karimov (1991-2016), the media in Uzbekistan experienced significant pressure. The total domination of the media…
Challenges NGOs in Uzbekistan are still facing
Overview of NGOs in Uzbekistan According to the Ministry of Justice of Uzbekistan the total number of registered non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in the country as of 2020 exceeded 10,000.[1] The…
Rebranding Uzbek cotton: An opportunity for lasting reform
A Toxic Legacy The spectre of the use of child and forced labour to pick cotton haunts the Uzbek government to this day. At its peak, the government orchestrated the…
Rehabilitation here and now: Pursuing transitional justice in Uzbekistan
We urgently need a structure independent of the state’s prison administration that will have the authority to devise remedies in individual cases of past and ongoing abuse. The creation of…
Is President Shavkat Mirziyoyev a reformer or a follower of the Karimov dictatorship?
Over the past 15 years, more than 600 civil society activists have been subjected to politically motivated persecution in Uzbekistan.[1] At least half of these have been tortured and imprisoned,…
Uzbekistan: on the brink of social explosion
The socio-political situation in Uzbekistan has been tense in recent years but now in many areas a crisis may be unfolding in the wake of the pandemic. As the economic…
COVID-19: Actions taken in Uzbekistan
Since March 2020, the global COVID-19 pandemic, along with the world economies has had a negative impact on Central Asian countries, including Uzbekistan. The pandemic and economic crisis have affected…
The pursuit of an uneasy balance: post-Karimov Uzbekistan and the Great Powers
Foreign policy continuity in the aftermath of leadership change has normally defined the evolution of Central Asian politics in the post-Soviet era. A strict policy of Neutrality characterised the international…