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This book examines the role of clans
in Central Asia from the 19th century up
to 2004. Most studies of regime transition
focus on formal institutions. However, Collins
claims that modern clans, defined as
networks of individuals linked through kinship
and fictive kin identities (p. 17), function
as informal political actors which has
initiated or undermined political change in
Central Asia. Moreover, clan membership
frequently determines career prospects,
especially in the public sector, influences
social status, and functions as a defense
mechanism against outside competitors.
To begin with, the author does a very
good job of providing a theoretical framework
to understand clan politics (p. 24-53).
From her point of view, understanding
clans requires the comprehension of both
rational and cultural elements. In addition,
she adequately explains why and how clans
survived during the Soviet period, despite
efforts to eradicate them and impose new
national identities among Central Asia's indigenous
population (pp. 62-134).
From chapter 5 to chapter 8, Collins
examines the impact of clans on regime
consolidation and durability, particularly
in Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
Clan competition in Tajikistan led to a
fierce civil war in the early 1990s. The Rahmonov
regime was supported by the Kulyab
clan and to a certain extent the Sughd clan.
The opposition parties received support
from clans (e.g., the Garm and the Gorno
Badakhshan) that were generally underrepresented
in government and politics
during the Soviet era. During the same period,
a clan-brokered pact with Akayev initiated
a process of democratization, albeit
problematic, in neighboring Kyrgyzstan.
While former President Akayev publicly
denounced clan politics, he found himself
increasingly relying on clan support to
maintain his grip on power. Akayev was often
accused of supporting northern clans,
especially his wife's clan from the western
Tallas region; as a result, funds and key
positions in central and local government
were allocated among his clan supporters.
In Uzbekistan, clan cooperation created a
new autocracy in the early 1990s. The lion's
share of important state appointments has
gone to the Samarkand and Tashkent clans
in Uzbekistan since the late 1980s. Thankful
appointees in their turn initiated a cult
of personality for Islam Karimov. The three
countries follow different regime trajectories
in the initial post-Soviet period, but
toward the mid-1990s they converged to
authoritarianism.
In chapter 9, Collins briefly outlines the
role of clans in Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan,
the Caucasus, the Middle East and Somalia.
She rightly concludes that the late development
of the states, capitalism and national
identities (pp. 335-336) can explain the
persistence of clans in these countries and
regions. Her, rather ambitious, aim is to
formulate a general theory of clan politics
since there are still clan-based societies in
other regions of the world.
Clan Politics and Regime Transition in Central Asia
By Kathleen Collins
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006, pp. 376, ISBN 9780521114660.
Book Reviews
258 Insight Turkey Vol. 12 / No. 3 / 2010
Collins's book is a significant contribution
to a growing literature on the role of
clans in Central Asia.1 She is to be commended
for conducting three years of fieldwork
in Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan;
one should not underestimate the difficulties
a Western researcher may have to
overcome in order to conduct research in
Central Asia. Although her study is important,
Collins clearly exaggerates the influence
of clans in the post-Soviet societies of
Central Asia. There is no solid evidence that
clans always act as a monolithic rational actor;
it appears that most clans are loosely
linked and often suffer from internal disputes.
Besides, Collins underestimates the
role of Islam in bridging clan cleavages.
Although politically divided, the Muslim
world still forms a large and interconnected
religious-cultural system. It was natural, as
Central Asian states became integrated into
the international community, for Muslims
to adopt a new trans-clan identity, centered
on the ummah.
More importantly, Collins does not
provide a detailed description of what a
clan looks like and how it is organized internally.
In particular, the author needs to
provide more evidence about her claim
that each clan comprises 2,000 to 20,000
members (p. 18). Although it is not easy
to gain information about such sensitive
issues, Collins could have provided a mapping
of Central Asian clans. A typology of
clans could have been useful too, given the
plurality of clans in the three countries under
study. Some of her conclusions are incorrect;
for example, Collins states that "in
Kyrgyzstan Uzbekistan, there is little evidence
to date of a proliferation of weapons"
(p. 342). Yet following the disintegration of
the Soviet Union in the early 1990s, Central
Asia is awash with arms. The retreat of
the Soviet army from Afghanistan in 1989
through Uzbekistan and the arming of the
different factions in the Tajik civil war from
1992 to 1997 mean that rifles and pistols are
easily obtainable on the black market.2 This
notwithstanding, this book provides a comprehensive
analysis of clan politics in Kyrgyzstan,
Tajikistan and Uzbekistan and is a
good starting point for further research.
Emmanuel Karagiannis,
University of Macedonia
Endnotes
1. Edgar A., Tribal Nation: The Making of Soviet
Turkmenistan (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University
Press, 2004), Roy O., The New Central Asia (New
York: New York University Press, 2000); Schatz E.,
Modern Clan Politics (Seattle: University of Washington
Press, 2004).
2. MacFarlane N. and Torjesen S, Kyrgyzstan:
A Small Arms Anomaly in Central Asia? (Geneva:
Small Arms Survey, 2004).