3rd floor Conference room, 125/1 Toktogul Street, Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic
Date
11 March 2026
Time
12:00 KG time
Abstract
UCA’s Graduate School of Development is inviting you to the upcoming Research Talk on the role of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other international financial organisations in Central Asia, delivered by Shaun Ingledew, PhD candidate at the University of Exeter. The event will provide an opportunity to exchange ideas on the role of international organisations in the region’s development.
Over the past three decades, IFI (International Financial Institutions) conditionality frameworks in the Kyrgyz Republic and Tajikistan have undergone significant evolution. This analysis traces shifts in the design and enforcement of IMF reform packages, highlighting periods of compliance, resistance and renegotiation between successive Kyrgyz governments and the IMF, as well as cycles of reform and consolidation in Tajikistan.
Drawing on a purpose-built dataset covering 2000–2026, this seminar situates these findings within broader debates on Western financial influence in Central Asia, assesses whether IMF leverage has weakened over time, and asks what this suggests about the changing nature of Western economic orthodoxy in the region.
Agenda:
• Welcome speech and introduction of the new season of UCA GSD’s Institute of Public Policy and Administration (IPPA) Research Talk — Dr Kanat Tilekeyev, Associate Director, GSD IPPA
• Presentation: “The Decline of Conditionality: A Comparative Study of IMF Interactions in Kyrgyz Republic and Tajikistan” — Shaun Ingledew, University of Exeter
• Q&A and Discussion — Dr Bakhytzhan Kurmanov, Senior Research Fellow, GSD IPPA
We look forward to your participation in this engaging discussion.
About Speaker
Shaun Ingledew is a final-year PhD student at the University of Exeter focusing on the role of IFIs and the changing nature of technical and governance conditionality in Central Asia. As part of this research, he has compiled a database of all MDB investment projects across Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. This work advances a novel theoretical framework for understanding IFI interactions within the changing political economy of development finance in Central Asia. Before joining the University of Exeter, Shaun held a research position at Harvard Business School where he researched and published on European macroeconomic trends. His regional interest is informed by three years living and working in Tajikistan and Kyrgyz Republic.