After almost 30 years of independence, Tajikistan finds itself in a very difficult place, combining extreme poverty with a system that brooks no dissent. Tajikistan’s descent into authoritarianism has taken place gradually but inexorably since the end of the Civil War in 1997 as the President has consolidated power into his own hands and those of his family and close associates, repressing dissent, no matter how minor, with often overwhelming force.
Tajikistan now finds itself close to the bottom of the global freedom rankings for political competition, civic space, media and religious freedom as the regime has effectively deployed its multi-track ‘suppress, acquiesce and incorporate’ approach to neutralise alternative voices with a widespread culture of self-censorship. There are real challenges deciding whether, when and how to engage with the country, which come with difficult trade-offs for those involved, where development and human rights imperatives do not always align in the short-term. This publication explores these challenges and the causes of them.
To see the full list of recommendations please download the publication.
This essay collection has been edited by Foreign Policy Centre Director Adam Hug. It contains essay contributions from: Dr Sebastien Peyrouse (George Washington University); Dr Parviz Mullojanov (School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences Paris); Shoira Olimova (International Accountability Project); Xeniya Mironova (Independent scholar); Anne Sunder-Plassmann and Rachel Gasowski (International Partnership for Human Rights); Dr Oleg Antonov (Malmö University), Dr Edward Lemon (Texas A&M University) and Dr Parviz Mullojonov (School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences Paris); Favziya Nazarova and Nigina Bakhrieva (Public Foundation Notabene); Dilbar Turakhanova (Independent consultant); and Larisa Alexandrova (Independent expert).
This is the second publication in the FPC’s Retreating Rights: Examining the pressure on human rights in Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan series.
This report was launched with a webinar on Monday 17th May, with the following speakers: Dr Edward Lemon (Research Assistant Professor, Bush School of Government and Public Service and Founder of the Oxus Society); Shoira Olimova (Community organiser and activist, International Accountability Project); Dr Parviz Mullojanov (Visiting researcher, School of Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences – EHESS [Paris]); and Dilbar Turakhanova (Independent consultant focused on gender equality issues). The event was chaired by Adam Hug (Director of the FPC). You can catch up with the audio from the event here and the video here.
Image by Kalpak Travel under (CC).
After almost 30 years of independence, Tajikistan finds itself in a very difficult place, combining extreme poverty with a system that brooks no dissent. Tajikistan’s descent into authoritarianism has taken…
A brief history of Tajikistan Tajikistan is situated between Kyrgyzstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Afghanistan to the south and China to the east, comprising parts of the…
As the COVID-19 virus spread in Eurasia in early 2020, Tajikistan’s President Emomali Rahmon and his government chose to deny the crisis for more than four months, then acknowledged on…
In 2020 and 2021, COVID-19 and the economic crisis have brought a whole range of new phenomena and events into society, the significance and consequences of which we have yet…
Khujand, Tajikistan In 2015, a Chinese construction firm, Pekin (Beijing), embarked on an ambitious plan to build a so-called ‘Chinatown’ in Khujand City, Tajikistan. With 15 high-rise buildings, meant to…
In the past ten years, almost every Central Asian republic has been demonstrating its sovereignty and independence through redevelopment of the architectural image of its capital city and the creation…
The authorities in Tajikistan have taken George Orwell’s words to the letter, as they have increasingly come to regard media outlets and independent journalists who ask probing questions, attempt to…
On March 3rd 2021, presidential aide, Abdujabbor Rahmonzoda, called on intellectuals to wage an ‘information war’ on the opposition.[1] A month earlier, the Government of Tajikistan had issued a directive…
Over the past decade, the Coalition of Civil Society against Torture and Impunity in Tajikistan has documented numerous cases indicating that women and girls in Tajikistan are regularly victims of…
Setting the scene: gender (in)equality in Tajikistan Among Central Asian countries, Tajikistan rates lowest in internationally comparable indices of gender equality. With the score of 0.626 in the Global Gender…
HIV is a disease that affects various spheres of people's life, including healthcare, legal, labour and other aspects. Tajikistan, being a rule of law based secular and social state, adopted…
Tajikistan’s dissent into full authoritarianism has taken place gradually, but inexorably since the end of the Civil War as the President has consolidated power into his own hands and those…
