Routledge Institutional Reform in Central Asia: Politico-Economic Challenges: 27 (Central Asian Studies)

The countries of Central Asia are increasingly the focus of intense international attention due to their geopolitical and economic importance as well as their unsettled transition processes. The region faced enormous challenges when the Soviet Union disintegrated, and this book focuses on the reforms of the institutional environment that have been largely neglected. Through an interdisciplinary approach, the book explores key aspects of institution building as well as economic and political governance in Central Asia. Contributors from a variety of disciplines, such as economics, political economy, political science, sociology, law, and ethnology, investigate the challenges of institutional transition in a non-democratic region. The book discusses how the lack of effective institution building as well as rule enforcement in the economic and political realms represents one of the key weaknesses and drawbacks of transition, and goes on to look at how crafting market institutions will be of utmost importance in the years ahead. Making an important contribution to understanding of political-economic developments in Central Asia, this book is of interest to students and scholars of political economy, comparative economics, development studies and Central Asian studies. Review "For the area specialists, the book is a study of a lesser-examined aspect of the Central Asian region. For economists, it is a set of case studies that are different from those normally reviewed. And for the general comparativists, the book provides insights into a region in terms that can then be applied globally.[...] After more than twenty years of independence, it is a good sign to see authors consider the region part of the world community." - Roger D. Kangas, Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies, Washington, D.C., Slavic Review About the Author Joachim Ahrens is Professor of International Economics at the Private University of Applied Sciences Göttingen, Germany. Herman W. Hoen is Professor of International Political Economy at the Department of International Relations of the University of Groningen, The Netherlands.