Religion, hydro-carbons, transportation needs and ethnic relations with the Gulf states have been rediscovered by the new republics - the study of which provides the basic subject matter for the book.

Central Asia is distinctive in its role as a frontier region in which a unique diversity of cultural, religious, and political traditions exist. This collection of essays by expert scholars in a range of disciplines focuses on the formation of ethnic, religious, and national identities in Muslim societies of Central Asia, thus furthering our general understanding of the history and culture of this significant region. This study includes several geopolitical regions--Chinese Central Asia, Soviet Central Asia, Afghanistan, Transoxiana and Khurasan--and covers historical periods from the fifteenth century to the present. Drawing on scholarship in anthropology, religion, history, literature, and language studies, Muslims in Central Asia argues for an interdisciplinary, inter-regional dialog in the development of new approaches to understanding the Muslim societies in Central Asia. The authors creatively examine the social construction of identities as expressed through literature, Islamic discourse, historical texts, ethnic labels, and genealogies, and explore how such identities are formed, changed, and adopted through time. Contributors. Hamid Algar, Muriel Atkin, Walter Feldman, Dru C. Gladney, Edward J. Lazzerini, Beatrice Forbes Manz, Christopher Murphy, Oliver Roy, Isenbike Togan

Over the last two decades the relations between the countries of the Gulf and Asia have expanded beyond the economic domain to include political and even security arrangements. While oil and non-oil trade are still the fulcrum of their association, 'strategic' partnerships are fast becoming the norm. The contributors of this book argue that, along with economic diversification, the Gulf countries have also diversified their foreign policies, especially with China, India, Japan and South Korea, among others. Together with Russia, this could eventually alter the current US-centric security paradigm. This opens up the prospect for a 'collective' security architecture in the Gulf, which is key to regional and global stability.

The struggle between Russia and Great Britain over Central Asia in the nineteenth century was the original "great game." But in the past quarter century, a new "great game" has emerged, pitting America against a newly aggressive Russia and a resource-hungry China, all struggling for influence over one of the volatile areas in the world: the long border region stretching from Iran through Pakistan to Kashmir. In Great Games, Local Rules, Alexander Cooley, one of America's most respected Central Asia experts, explores the dynamics of the new competition over the region since 9/11. All three great powers are pursuing important goals: basing rights for the US, access to natural resources for the Chinese, and increased political influence for the Russians. But Central Asian governments have proven themselves powerful forces in their own right, establishing local rules that serve to fend off foreign involvement, enrich themselves and reinforce their sovereign authority. Cooley's careful and surprising explanation of how small states interact with great powers in this vital region greatly advances our understanding of how world politics actually works in this contemporary era.

Central Asia assimilated several alien traditions and trends and also forged conflicts and contradictions among the peoples of the region. Therefore, it cannot be understood without comprehension of its glorious past and budding present. This compendium of thirty five papers, presented at an international conference, organized by the Centre of Central Asian Studies, University of Kashmir, Srinagar, attempts to examine the various dynamics of Central Asia. It addresses a wide range of issues concerning Central Asia’s geo-politics and geo-strategy, geo-economics, historico-cultural relations, and its relations with other countries of the world.

In this global era, Central Asia must be understood in both geo-economic and geopolitical terms. The region's natural resources compel the attention of rivalrous great powers and ambitious internal factions. The local regimes are caught between the need for international collaborations to valorize these riches and the need to maintain control over them in the interest of state sovereignty. Russia and China dominate the horizon, with other global players close behind; meanwhile, neighboring countries are fractious and unstable with real potential for contagion. This pathbreaking introduction to Central Asia in contemporary international economic and political context answers the needs of both academic and professional audiences and is suitable for course adoption.

This work focuses on the challenges facing the newly independent states of Central Asia - Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kirgizia and Tadjikistan. It examines the political events and socio-economic changes which followed the disintegration of the Soviet Union.