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Conference -- Post-Imperial Constellations: Society, Identity, Environment

The twentieth century witnessed the breaking up of (many of) the empires that had dominated the globe over long periods: the Ottoman Empire, the Habsburg Empire, the British Empire, the Russian Empire/Soviet Union, among others. As a consequence, new boundaries were created, and new states were formed. But the post-imperial situation was marked by a particular ambiguity. On the one hand, the creation of new states corresponded to the idea of collective self-determination, supposedly by a people or nation the origins of which were considered to be pre-imperial. On the other hand, the territories and populations of the new states had been integrated - often highly asymmetrically- in a larger social configuration over more or less long periods. Thus, they were fragments or splinters of a whole in many respects: They had neither strong institutional traditions nor the socio-economic coherence that a "society" is assumed to have. In contrast to expectations, they often did not have a common cultural-linguistic identity that a "nation" is assumed to have either. And while these fragments could now make claims to own the biophysical resources on their territory, they were often dependent on external exploiters of these resources and powerless with regard to the ensuing environmental degradation.

Often, the legacy of such fragmentation or splintering is long-lasting. For current purposes, it will be referred to as a "post-imperial constellation", in which the possibilities for the development of society, identity, and environment remain shaped by the imperial legacy. This conference will analyze a number of those post-imperial constellations, with a focus on the present but in historical and comparative perspective. Presentations will focus both on what one may call the post-imperial metropolis (e.g., Turkey, Russia) and on formerly dependent parts of empires (e.g., Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, South Africa). Drawing on the expertise at UCA, a number of presentations analyze Central Asian societies and their particular societal, cultural, and ecological post-imperial constellation. However, the general orientation of the conference is global and world-regionally comparative, including aspects of imperial competition (e.g., over Central Asia) and considering varieties of colonialism from highly hierarchical to more interactive ones.

Conference Agenda -- 7 November 2023

Departure Location: Hotel Ambassador, 32 Orozbekov St, Bishkek 720040

12:30 -- Hotel check-in 

13:00 -- Departure from Khan-Tengri Hotel to UCA Campus

Location: UCA Campus Dining Hall

Location: UCA Campus Yellow Classroom

Welcome addresses by Dr Maxim Khomyakov, Dean of UCA's School of Arts and Sciences (SAS), and Dr SoheiL Ashrafi, Associate Dean of UCA-SAS.

Location: UCA Campus Yellow Classroom

To join online:

Location: UCA Campus Yellow Classroom

To join online:

Topic: Iran and Central Asia After the Collapse of the Russian (Tsarist) Empire

Presented by: Saïd Arjomand (State University of New York at Stony Brook) 

Discussant: Peter Wagner

Location: UCA Campus Yellow Classroom

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Topic: The Idea of post-Imperial Collective Self-Determination Across Changing Global Constellations

Presented by:Peter Wagner (University of Central Asia)

Discussant: James Fichter

Location: UCA Campus Yellow Classroom

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Topic: Pamir at the Crossroad of History: The Downfall of the Local Powers and Regional Partitions in the Late 19th Century

Presented by: Abdulmamad Iloliev (University of Central Asia)

Discussant: Sultonbek Aksakolov

Location: UCA Campus Yellow Classroom; Online Presentation

To join online:

Location: UCA Campus Dining Hall

Departure Location: UCA Campus West Entrance

Conference Agenda -- 8 November 2023

Departure Location: Khan Tengri Hotel

Topic: Construction of Border, Boundary, and Identity in Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region 

Presented by: Amrisho Lashkariev (University of Central Asia)

Discussant: Andrey Menshikov

Location: UCA Campus Yellow Classroom

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Topic: Minorities in Imperial, and Nation State’s Policy: The Case of the Pamiris in Central Asia

Presented by: Sultonbek Aksakolov (University of Central Asia)

Discussant: Amrisho Lashkariev

Location: UCA Campus Yellow Classroom; Online Presentation

To join online:

Location: UCA Campus Dining Hall

Topic: The Political Place of Soviet Identity in the Formation of Kyrgyz Civic Identity

Presented by: Azamat Kaliev (Institute for Medical and Social Research, Presidential Academy of Public Administration

Discussant: Elena Kolesova

Location: UCA Campus Yellow Classroom

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Topic: The Effect of the Russian Invasion in Ukraine on Economic Migrants and Their Families in Naryn City, Kyrgyzstan

Presented by: Elena Kolesova (University of Central Asia), Assylbek Assylkhanov (University of Central Asia)

Discussant: Azamat Kaliev

Location: UCA Campus Yellow Classroom

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Topic: The Wars of Imperial Revenge, and the Concept of Nemesis

Presented by: Alexander Etkind (Central European University)

Moderator: Dean Maxim Khomyakov

Location: UCA Campus Yellow Classroom; Online

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Location: UCA Campus Dining Hall

Topic: The Burden of the Imperial Decline on Nationalism, Or the Burden of Nationalism on Imperial Decline?

Presented by: Karen Barkey (Bard College)

Moderator: Peter Wagner

Location: UCA Campus Yellow Classroom; Online

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Departure Location: UCA Campus West Entrance

Conference Agenda -- 9 November 2023

Departure Location: Khan Tengri Hotel

Topic: Postcolonial Theory and post-Soviet Philosophy

Presented by: Andrey Menshikov (University of Central Asia)

Discussant: Dean Maxim Khomyakov

Location: UCA Campus Yellow Classroom

To join online:

Topic: Minorities in Imperial, and Nation State’s Policy: The Case of the Pamiris in Central Asia

Presented by: James Fichter (University of Hong Kong)

Discussant: Abdulmamad Iloliev

Location: UCA Campus Yellow Classroom

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Topic: Imperial Nation or National Empire: the Russians and their State

Presented by: Maxim Khomyakov (University of Central Asia)

Discussant: Saïd Arjomand

Location: UCA Campus Yellow Classroom

To join online:

Location: UCA Campus Yellow Classroom

To join online:

Location: UCA Campus Dining Hall

Location: UCA Campus Dining Hall