Guest lecture
On 9th of December 2015 (15.30, room # 214) Law Department of IAAU will organize guest
lecturer and invite a Western scholar - Philipp Lottholz (PhD candidate at the University of
Birmingham). The theme of his Presentation will be:
“From the “Imaginary west” to national ownership: International statebuilding in Kyrgyzstan”.
We would like to invite Professors and students to participate in this event!
If you have any questions please contact Zhyldyz Tegizbekova
PPT Structure for International Ataturk-Alatoo University; December 9, 2015
“From the “Imaginary west” to national ownership:
International statebuilding in Preliminary title: Kyrgyzstan”
Philipp Lottholz is a PhD candidate at the University of Birmingham and currently a Visiting Scholar at
the Central Asian Studies Institute, American University of Central Asia. He conducted research on
state-society relations and post-conflict reconstruction in Kyrgyzstan and received his MSc degree at
the International Development Department in Birmingham in 2012. His current doctoral research
inquires statebuilding processes in Kyrgyzstan under the title "Statebuilding in Central Asia - Moving
towards a post-liberal model? Inquiring local agency in Kyrgyzstan". His research interests include
peace and conflict studies, political sociology, international political economy, and post-Socialist/post-
Soviet studies. He is also a Teaching Associate for the Department of Politics and International
Studies (POLSIS) and International Development Department (IDD) at Birmingham.
Abstract
This presentation will provide an overview on practices of statebuilding, community
security and political reform in Kyrgyzstan. Critical perspectives on International
Relations, political science and international law will be linked in this discussion of
specific empirical research, which is part of the researcher’s doctoral dissertation. The
main argument is that such processes, both in practice and in (political) discourse
operate with different imaginaries, through which certain decisions and directions are
shaped. Special attention will be paid to the “imaginary West”, which is rooted in
Kyrgyzstan’s Soviet legacy and appears to structure the country’s institutional, political
and social development. It will be argued that different actors use this imaginary to
either argue for certain reforms and practices or against them – or in order to reject
them as unviable. Further imaginaries that are (partially) constructed in contradicting
relation to the “imaginary West” are discussed with a special focus on the idea of Kyrgyz
national ownership and the way this idea shapes cooperation with and opposition to
statebuilding and institutional reform projects supported by foreign donors. In
conclusion, entry points into critical academic inquiry of Kyrgyzstan’s national
development will be indicated.
Outline
I What is statebuilding (in Kyrgyzstan)?
II “Imaginary West” and the semantics of international statebuilding
II.1 “The elsewhere of late Socialism” (Yurchak)
II.2 Imagining “the West” in today’s Kyrgyzstan
II.3 The “liberal peace” – international intervention and Western hegemony
III From the “Imaginary West” to national ownership: Imaginaries of statebuilding
and security practices in Kyrgyzstan
III.1 Statebuilding, community security and institutional reform in Kyrgyzstan
III.2 “Imaginary West”
III.3 National ownership
III.4 Tradition
IV Why is all of this important?
IV.1 Democracy, human rights and neoliberal reforms – the “Western” critiques
IV.2 Particular vs. universal concepts
IV.3 Universalist vs. relativist approaches
V Conclusions
Slides:
I What is statebuilding (in Kyrgyzstan)?
Statebuilding and international intervention
- International Relations and security after the end of the Cold War
- ‘Failed states’ and the ‘responsibility to protect’
- 9/11 and the war on terror
- Security and development: Intervention, statebuilding assistance, promotion
of democracy and human rights
Statebuilding in Kyrgyzstan
- Not a case of international intervention
- Extensive reforms, introduction of new standards and institutional templates
- From “donor darling” to “global protectorate”
- Web of economic and political ties and channels, economic interdependence,
- Ambiguous relation towards international aid; internationally promoted
since 1991
political ties with Russia
institutional reform
II “Imaginary West” and the semantics of international statebuilding
II.1 “The elsewhere of late Socialism” – Alexey Yurchak
- Book
- Consumption of Western cultural and technical goods not prohibited
- Distinction between ‘good’ and ‘bad West’
- Soviet governmentality: Not control, but authority of interpretation
- Disappointment with the ‘real’ West
II.2 Imagining “the West” in Kyrgyzstan today
- Salience of imaginaries of the West
- ‘The place to be’ – positive imaginings of the West
- Undesirable, negative features of Western ‘culture’
- Where is the West?
II.3 The “liberal peace” – international intervention and Western hegemony
- Lose bundle of concepts and standards used in post-conflict reconstruction
- Post-conflict peace- and statebuilding vs. institutional reform and democracy
- The critique of the “liberal peace”
- Counter-arguments against the critique – What’s wrong with ‘pragmatic’
promotion: similarities and differences
approaches?
III From the “Imaginary West” to national ownership: Imaginaries of
statebuilding and security practices in Kyrgyzstan
III.1 Statebuilding, community security and institutional reform in Kyrgyzstan
- Research focus on three types of actors with different position in state-society
- Civic Union “For Reforms and Result”: Reform of law enforcement agencies
- Local Crime Prevention Centres (Общественно-профилактические центры)
- Territorial Youth Councils: Peaceful coexistence and interests of young people
III.2 “Imaginary West”
- Transparency and accountability
- Cultured and educated people
- Initiatives and political activism
III.3 National autonomy
- ‘Who gives money without asking anything back?’ – The controversial role
- Sustainable and resilient self-governance (LCPCs, TYCs)
- Complex problems, socio-economic issues and minority rights
III.4 Tradition
- Litigation and conflict resolution: Aksakal courts
- Peacebuilding and interethnic reconciliation
- Tradition & Law: ‘Hybrid’ arrangements to overcome incompatibilities?
- ‘Invented’ tradition: What to keep and how to get rid of undesired ‘traditions’?
IV Why is all of this important?
IV.1 Democracy, human rights and neoliberal reforms – the “Western” critiques
- “Failing to protect”: The ineffectiveness of human rights
- Cultural violence and ‘epistemicide’: Democratize democracy human rights?
IV.2 Particular vs. universal concepts
- A pluralistic approach to democracy
- ‘Hybrid’ political orders: The best of both worlds?
relations
– community security and crime prevention
NGOs and human rights activists (CURR)
- Negative trajectories of hybridity and ‘virtual’ democracy
- ‘Rational’ values beyond identity – do they exist?
- ‘A Mercedes is a Mercedes in Africa, too, no?’
IV.3 Universalist vs. relativist approaches
- ‘The end of history’ – liberal democracy as ultimate end goal and benchmark
- Gradualism vs. sequentialism
- Transition and democratization studies
- Critical perspectives in political economy; cultural studies
V Conclusions
- The “imaginary West” and its effects
- Uses and abuses of labels – “West vs. East”; “modern vs. traditional”; “foreign
- Political and decisions on institutional design and reform not a matter of
- Entry points for critical academic inquiry
for development
vs. local”
origin, but of substance