After two and a half decades of transition from a common Soviet heritage, the five Central Asian economies display a highly diverse record of agricultural reform outcomes today. It spans from liberalised and diversified smallholder agriculture in Kyrgyzstan to massive central control of cotton producing farmers’ associations in Turkmenistan. These diverging reforms in agriculture are embedded in a broader agenda of economic modernisation that is managed by elite members of political regimes. Some of these regimes have made strides towards democracy, but most of them still rank at the lower end of international governance comparisons, including voice and accountability, the rule of law, and corruption control.
The aim of this workshop is to bring together social scientists from various disciplinary backgrounds in search of explanations for economic reform outcomes that are based on political economy arguments, using agriculture as a case in point. The workshop shall provide a platform for presentation and intensive discussion that is based on broad-based empirical evidence of both qualitative and quantitative nature. It aims to go beyond the opportunities for exchange typically available within international conference settings. The agenda includes both in-depth studies of individual countries as well as cross-country comparisons, using a variety of theoretical and analytical approaches.
Thursday, 24 November
Economic modernisation and the management of democracy in Central Asia
15:00 – 15:20
Welcome & introduction
Martin Petrick, IAMO, Halle
15:20 – 16:20
Economic modernisation and managed democracy in Kazakhstan
Sebastian Schiek, Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik, German Institute for International and Security Affairs, Berlin
16:20 – 16:40 Break
16:40 – 17:40
Economic modernisation and managed democracy in Turkmenistan
Hendrik Meurs, German Aerospace Center, Project Management Agency, European and International Cooperation, Bonn
18:30 Dinner
Friday, 25 November
The management of agricultural policy in state-managed economies
9:00 – 10:00
Food and power: Agricultural policy and political regime
Henry Thomson, Nuffield College, University of Oxford
10:00 – 11:00
The political economy of agricultural policy in Uzbekistan
Nodir Djanibekov, IAMO, Halle and Lorena Lombardozzi, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London
11:00 – 11:30 Break
11:30 – 12:30
Agricultural policies in Central Asia: what governments do and why they do it
Martin Petrick, IAMO, Halle
12:30 – 13:30 Lunch break
13:30 – 14:30
The political economy of agricultural policy in Russia
Vasyl Kvartiuk, IAMO, Halle
14:30 – 15:30
Conclusions and discussion of a future research agenda
