From Strong State to a Strong Civil Society: Domestic Discourse of Civil Society in Post-Soviet Uzbekistan

Abstract

Through a review of the works published by local academics, this paper aims to reveal that the concept of “civil society” continues to be mobilized and promoted in Uzbekistan’s extensive domestic literature, substantively under the terms and conditions of the existing political elite. The concept of “civil society” and its discourse amongst local intellectuals has proven in a way unique, largely owing to its quality to encompass and address a whole range of challenges of state-building. Another rationale behind this study is to test the normative assumption that, like most political, social and cultural issues, the individual application of the concept of civil society in post-communist, developing countries, such as Uzbekistan, is highly diverse, and as such, often tends to exhibit its own peculiarities.

Keywords: Civil Society, State, Uzbekistan, Post-Soviet state