The Copenhagen school on your in Kyrgyzstan : is securitization theory useable outside Europe?

The article argues that the theoretical framework presented by the Copenhagen School is currently unsuited to empirical studies outside the West owing to two factors. First, the presence of the ‘Westphalian straitjacket’ has prevented explicit interrogation of the normative concepts underlying the framework: there is a presumption that European understandings of society and the state are universal. Second, the centrality of the speech-act for securitization to the exclusion of other forms of expression, such as physical action, results in the theoretical framework producing a Westernized description of a given situation. The extent to which these factors limit the utility of the concepts of securitization and societal security in a non-Western setting is illustrated through the case of the overthrow of the government in Kyrgyzstan in March 2005. This example forms an empirical critique to highlight how theoretical shortcomings result in a simplified and Westernized description of the situation that does not take into account the specific local socio-political context. The article concludes that if the Copenhagen School’s theoretical framework is to be considered suitable for universal application, future theoretical developments must explicitly address the issues discussed to enable progress in escaping International Relations’ Westphalian straitjacket.

You say security, we say safety : speaking and talking ‘security’ in Kyrgyzstan

The Copenhagen School's notion of securitization is widely recognised as an important theoretical innovation in the conceptualisation of security, not least for its potential for including a range of actors and spatial scales beyond the state. However, its empirical utility remains more open to question due to a lack of reflexivity regarding local socio-cultural contexts, narrow focus on speech and inherently retrospective nature. Drawing on fieldwork conducted by the author in Kyrgyzstan between September 2005 and June 2006, this paper will examine the implications of these limitations for conducting empirical research on "security" logistically and methodologically. Centrally, the question of how “security” can be researched in the field will be discussed. Consideration will be given to the researcher’s role in talking “security” and how “security” can effectively be located and explicated through the creation of ethnomethodological “thick description”. Issues of contingency, multiple voices and power loci, and inter-cultural translation will be addressed. The paper will conclude with a consideration of how local knowledge can be used to inform our research and help find ways to bridge the divide between the field and theory.

What’s in a name? The personal and political meanings of 'LGBT' for non-heterosexual and transgender youth in Kyrgyzstan

In this article, we focus on the ways in which non-heterosexual and transgender youth involved with the non-governmental organization ‘Labrys’ in Kyrgyzstan have begun to demand the protection of their basic civil and human rights on the basis of self-identification as ‘LGBT’. This acronym, which stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender, is relatively new to Kyrgyzstan and other post-Soviet states, and represents a change in the terms used by non-heterosexual and transgender people to describe themselves. We frame our discussion using the concepts of sexual citizenship, private/public divides and stigma and base our discussion on debates amongst the staff and community of Labrys about the purpose and scope of the organization. Centrally, we suggest that the strategic use of ‘LGBT’ as a public and politicized identity represents a new, pro-active form of stigma management. By employing this strategy, young LGBT people become ‘would-be’ sexual citizens and challenge traditional societal norms that seek to keep discussion of sex and sexuality in the private sphere and restrict rights to heterosexual, cisgender citizens.

Giving a state a bad name? Kyrgyzstan and the risk of state failure

The article discusses the possible state failure of Kyrgyzstan and the implications of the label of a failed sate. A brief history of the events that have led to failed state status include the Tulip Revolution in 2005, political protests, presidential election protests, and ethnic violence. The response of the U.S., the European Union, and Russia to the events and the national interests of labeling the state as failed are discussed. It is suggested that instead of establishing security other countries have labeled Kyrgyzstan as a failed state which has led to a lack of political legitimacy, an expansion of neoliberalism, and has dangerous implications for the success of the country.

Imagining Kyrgyzstan's nationhood and statehood: reactions to the 2010 Osh violence

This article explores the tensions inherent in how Kyrgyzstan's nationhood and statehood have been imagined and practised via an analysis of local reactions to the findings of the Kyrgyzstan Inquiry Commission's (KIC) investigation into the 2010 Osh violence and in particular the threat narrative that developed in opposition to the investigation. In the wake of the clashes that erupted in Osh in June 2010, a recurrent theme was calls from the international community for an independent investigation. Within Kyrgyzstan, however, some politicians argued that investigations violated the republic's sovereignty. Despite local reluctance, a number of investigations did subsequently take place. Yet the reports of the respective investigations did little to quell controversy, with the KIC report being strongly criticized and declared a threat to national security. The strength of feeling demonstrated by this reaction was indicative of long-standing and unresolved tensions in Kyrgyzstan between international and local imaginings of nationhood and statehood. The article concludes by arguing that nationhood and statehood need to be reimagined to focus on re-establishing state–society relations by both local and international actors in order for Kyrgyzstan to begin repairing the already fragile sociopolitical relationships that were grievously damaged by the violence and the subsequent investigations.

Development in Kyrgyzstan : Failed State or Failed Statebuilding?

This chapter examines the tensions present in approaches to development in Kyrgyzstan. It argues that development in this small post-Soviet republic has been approached primarily as formal statebuilding (Marquette & Beswick 2011), implying a belief that domestic political institutions and processes are the primary cause of fragility and that the adoption of democratic institutions and free market economic policies will result in development. The consequences of this inherently normative endeavour are explored in terms of the local political economy that has developed since independence and especially in the 2000s. Centrally, it is demonstrated how the competing interests and priorities of donors and local elite have undermined development efforts. On the basis of this analysis, it is suggested that rather than being framed as a failing or failed state, Kyrgyzstan is better understood as a case of failed statebuilding that cannot be remedied by the adoption of the current principles for development in fragile states situations, as adopted by the international community. Instead, the focus needs to be on facilitating the rebuilding of state-society relations both locally and internationally with a view to beginning to check the marketization of the state that has occurred.

Dynamic characterisation of four nine-story large-panel R.C. buildings in Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan): A comparison between experimental ambient vibration analysis and numerical finite element modeling

With the outlook of improving seismic vulnerability assessment for the city of Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan), the global dynamic behaviour of four nine-storey r.c. large-panel buildings in elastic regime is studied. The four buildings were built during the Soviet era within a serial production system. Since they all belong to the same series, they have very similar geometries both in plan and in height. Firstly, ambient vibration measurements are performed in the four buildings. The data analysis composed of discrete Fourier transform, modal analysis (frequency domain decomposition) and deconvolution interferometry, yields the modal characteristics and an estimate of the linear impulse response function for the structures of the four buildings. Then, finite element models are set up for all four buildings and the results of the numerical modal analysis are compared with the experimental ones. The numerical models are finally calibrated considering the first three global modes and their results match the experimental ones with an error of less then 20%.