Discuss the ethnic divisions in Central Asia.

Also Explore the Ethnic

Conflicts in Central Asia. Explore the prospect of regional integration
while keeping in view the Ethnic challenges in CARS.

Abstract

The region of Central Asia consists of many diverse ethnicities. These are migrated from the
neighboring countries, such as Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan. The land-locked region of Central
Asia is a home to these minorities and is rich in culture. The history and the cultural differences
today deepens the cleavage of the demography of the countries of Central Asia. These cultural
differences are the root cause of the ethnic conflicts in Central Asia. This paper sheds light on the
ethnic tensions in Central Asia which is an evidence of how Central Asia is a conflict ridden
region. Pre-modern Central Asia saw a lot of violence and wars that had religious underpinnings
or originated from genealogical claims. This paper also seeks to answer that what are the
prospects of regional integration in Central Asia and how these ethnic conflicts are a threat to
this regional integration.
INTRODUCTION:
The region of Central Asia came into existence with the disintegration of USSR in the late 20 th
century. Five former Soviet controlled nation-states i.e., Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan,
Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan came together to form this region. These nation-states brought their
cultures, norms and various ethnic groups along with them, which became a major factor
representing the Central Asian region. Looking over the history and the geo-strategic location of
Central Asia, it is perceived that this region has been a hub of vast ethnic divisions. Mainly due
to its diverse history of existing at cross-roads of great empires, being the center of migrations
from all over the world. This has led to a large number of ethnic divisions in Central Asia.

When a region is inhabited by a vast population, coming from different parts of the world,
bringing their own cultural baggage, there are chances of having a more conflict ridden region.
Same is the case with Central Asia. Being a newly formed region, Central Asia has not been able
to achieve stability politically and economically, but most importantly socially. The social
instability is due to the large number of ethnic conflicts in this region. These Ethnic Conflicts
have proved to be the biggest challenge of Soviet legacy for the regional integration of Central
Asia. Before getting into the regionalism and ethnic conflicts of Central Asia, first we need to
take a look at its Ethnic Divisions.

KAZAKHSTAN:
The Kazaks are descended from Turkic and Mongol tribes. In the fifteenth century some of these
tribes formed the Kazak Khanate. The rulers of the Khanate were Muslims; the main body of the
Kazak tribes, however, was not fully converted to Islam until some centuries later. In the
seventeenth century the Kazaks split into three tribal confederations, each under its own leader
(khan): The Big, Middle and Small Hordes (in Kazak Ulu Zhus, Orta Zhus and Kishi Zhus
respectively.

 Germans Koreans and Russians:

German immigration into Kazakhstan began during the late Tsarist period. By 1926, they
numbered many. Some Germans were deported to Kazakhstan c. 1936 from western Ukraine, but
the main influx was in 1944, when the entire German population of the Volga region, numbering
some were exiled to Central Asia on charges of alleged collaboration with the Nazis. The use of
the German language was forbidden and religious services could only be held in secret, and at
great risk. The Korean migration into the Maritime Province of the Russian Far East, which
began in the 1860s, was prompted primarily by political and economic difficulties in Korea. By
the 1920s, the Korean community. Most were engaged in agriculture (especially the cultivation
of rice), fishing and manual labour. When collectivization was introduced in 1929, several
thousand Koreans re-emigrated to Korea. In 1931, after the Japanese invasion of southern
Manchuria, relations between Japan and the former Soviet Union became very tense. The first
large wave of Russian migration into Kazakstan dates from the nineteenth century. By the early
twentieth century there were Russian settlers in the region. They fell into different social
categories: members of the Tsarist ‘establishment’, including administrators, doctors, engineers,
geologists, surveyors and teachers; Cossack military units to guard the frontiers and to maintain
law and order; peasant farmers; and several waves of political exiles (Marxists, Social
Democrats, etc.).

 Other Ethnicities:
The Uighurs are a Turkic people. The majority live in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous
Province. By tradition, they are traders and agriculturalists. During the nineteenth century, as the
Russian Empire expanded eastwards, a portion of the Uighur population came under Tsarist rule.
Most were located in the Ferghana Valley in modern Uzbekistan, the remainder in the Ili Valley
in modern Kazakhstan. In 1926 there were Uighurs in Kazakhstan. When relations between
China and the Soviet Union deteriorated in the 1960s, many thousands of Chinese Uighurs
crossed the border into Soviet territory. The great majority settled in Kazakhstan. Some Kazak
intellectuals of the time regarded the Tatar influx as pernicious, preferring Russian culture to the
form of Islam which the Tatars were trying to introduce.

KYRGYZSTAN:
The previously nomadic tribes of Kyrgyzstan are of Turko-Mongol descent. By the sixteenth
century they had started to form one identifiable nation. However, tribal and clan divisions
continued to be important. Today, these still exert some residual influence on the political and
social life of the country.

 Uighurs, Ukrainians and Uzbeks:

The Uighurs constitutes a relatively small group However; they are of particular concern to the
Kyrgyz authorities since they have close links with the much larger Uighur population across the
border in the Chinese province of Xinjiang. There have been several cross-border population
movements in this region in Soviet and post-Soviet times, including: in the 1920s and 1930s
(purges and collectivization on the Soviet side), 1950s and 1960s (Sino-Soviet conflict), and
most recently, since independence.

In 1979, the Ukrainians represented just over 3 per cent of the population of Kyrgyzstan. By
1994, however, their proportion had declined. They did not have special language or other
cultural facilities in the past and today are generally associated with the Russian community.

The Uzbeks are the most numerous of the Central Asian groups. The majority are located in the
south, in the Osh and Jalal-Abad regions, bordering Uzbekistan. This is a heavily populated area
with over 80 different ethnic groups represented. The Uzbeks are the largest minority. They have
schools with Uzbek as the medium of instruction, also some printing facilities; there are Uzbek
cultural centers in the cities. There has long been tension between the Uzbeks and the Kyrgyz in
this region.

TAJIKISTAN:

 Pamiri people:
The Pamiri peoples, sometimes called ‘Mountain Tajiks’ ‘Galchahs’, inhabit the high valleys and
mountain passes of Badakhshan in the east of the country. They speak eastern Iranian languages
which are often scarcely mutually comprehensible and are very remote from standard Tajik (a
western Iranian language). By religion they are almost all Nizari Ismailis Most other Tajiks
consider the Pamiris to be ‘outsiders’, neither ‘real’ Tajiks nor ‘real’ Muslims.
  Uzbeks:
There is also a sizeable Uzbek presence in Dushanbe. During the Soviet period, Uzbeks regularly
held high office in the Tajik government. Since independence they have continued to constitute
an important political force in the country, often acting as power-brokers between the rival Tajik
factions. They also play a dominant role in commerce and have considerable economic power.
There has traditionally been a high incidence of intermarriage between Tajiks and Uzbeks and to
some extent this has blurred perceptions of ethnic identity

 Baluchi’s and Kazakhs:

The Baluchi’s are an Iranian people, however, like the Turkmen, they are Sunni Muslims. During
the 1930s the numbers of Baluchi’s in Turkmenistan dropped sharply, owing to the ravages of
collectivization and the political purges; there were also waves of migration to Afghanistan at
this time. The Kazaks, a Turkic people like the Turkmen, live mainly in the south, in the Balkan
and Mary provinces, and in the west, in the vicinity of the Turkmenbashi port (formerly
Krasnovodsk) on the Caspian Sea. Kazaks of Turkmenistan maintain close contacts with their
kin across the border in Iran.

 Crimean Tartars:
The Crimean Tatars are descended from the Crimean Khanate. There was an awakening of
Crimean Tatar national consciousness towards the end of the nineteenth century. It had a strong
Pan-Turkic and Pan-Islamic orientation and was much influenced by similar movements in

Ottoman Turkey (which had, at this time a large Crimean Tatar colony).

 Karakalpaks:
They are predominantly known as Turkic people. After Soviet rule had been established, a
Karakalpak Autonomous Province was created (May 1925) on the southern coast of the Aral
Sea. The population of Karakalpakstan has always been ethnically mixed, the three main , and
almost equally balanced, groups being the Karakalpaks, Kazaks and Uzbeks.
  Meskhetetian Turks, Ukrainians and Belarusians:
They are part of the Georgia who came under the Ottoman rule in 16 th century. The so-called
Meskhetian Turks are of mixed origins: some are descended from Turks, others from Turkified,
Islamized Georgians. Other Turkic or Turkified Muslim groups are sometimes included with the
Meskhetian Turks. They lived in south-west Georgia until November 1944, when they were
deported in masse to Central Asia, mostly to Uzbekistan. The Ukrainians and Belarusians
represent just 1 percent of the population of Uzbekistan. Ukrainian settlers first moved to the
region at the turn of the century (by 1926 there were almost 26,000 in Uzbekistan). During the
Soviet period the Ukrainians and the even smaller community of Belarusians were generally
identified with the Russians. Their national identity began to appear but they have little formal
expression.

CENTRAL ASIA – A CONFLICT RIDDEN REGION

After the collapse of the USSR, the 1990s saw an increase in social and religious violence in
Central Asia. However, despite the violence being different in character, Central Asia had
already gained a reputation of a very conflict-ridden region precisely in the ethnic sense. Many
experts and politicians listed manifold potential ethnic conflicts about to break out in the region.
In 2010, one of these predictions came true in the south of Kyrgyzstan, where a clash erupted
between the Kyrgyz and Uzbeks. These expert assessments were also borne out by occasional
conflicts over land and water arising between communities that live in the border areas.

Nevertheless, the label of ethnic conflict does not always explain the reasons for violence. The
conflicts in Central Asia arise and develop as a variety of local actions, which have different
sequences, logic, and motivation. These actions are performed by very different agents—people,
groups, and institutes that have their own interests and dispositions. Social and political slogans
sound during the events, while the line of confrontation lies between local communities and
particular groups of people, not between “nations” or “ethnic groups.” The label of ethnic
conflict simplifies all these entanglements; there is usually a political interest or a certain
intellectual tradition behind it, which essentializes and historicizes the reasons for aggression.
Ethnic Tensions mainly between Uzbeks and Tajiks:
Violent disputes between Turks, Uzbeks, Kyrgyz and Tajiks have occurred throughout the
Ferghana Valley, where the arbitrarily drawn borders of Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan
meet. Fighting between these ethnic communities often results from disputes over land or water,
mostly on the Uzbek and Tajik side of the valley. With respect to ethnic or religious minorities,
the relatively tolerant Kyrgyz state approach strongly contrasts with the political exclusion and
harsh repression used by the Uzbek and Tajik regimes. But despite its liberal laws, Kyrgyzstan
still occasionally cracks down on its Uyghur minority at the request of China, which uses its
economic leverage in Central Asia to control the separatist tendencies of this community, even
after emigration. The proliferation of jihadist movements also seems to be an emerging security
challenge throughout Central Asia, as violent attacks become increasingly frequent.

Fergana Valley:
The significance and magnitude of violence and conflict potential in the contemporary Ferghana
Valley has been identified as one of the most prevalent themes in the study of post-Soviet
Central Asia. This densely populated region has been long portrayed as a site of latent inter-
ethnic conflict. Not only is the Fergana Valley a region, where three major ethnic groups Kyrgyz,
Uzbeks and Tajiks—co-exist in a network of interdependent communities, sharing burial sites,
grazing grounds, and markets, but it is also a region where ethnic and political boundaries often
do not coincide. Accordingly, soon after the demise of the Soviet Union, the Ferghana Valley
was discursively cast as a volatile and crisis-ridden region prone to sectarian violence. Such
discourses characterized post-Soviet Central Asia as a site of intervention, prompting the
international community to enter the region to mitigate conflict potential and promote peaceful
development. However, such interventions brought little harmony to fractured communities, as
they were detached from the local context, simulated ‘bottom-up’ peacebuilding and were overly
technical and procedural. Moreover, apart from misdiagnosing the causes of the conflicts,
international aid agencies inadvertently supported the strengthening of authoritarianism in
Central Asia, which generated the real grievances and anxieties in the region.
Batken and Sughd:
Despite the prevalence of such ‘catastrophizing’ works about the Ferghana Valley, the literature
on conflict potential in the Kyrgyz-Tajik border areas is limited. Yet, the number of small-scale
clashes and tensions on these borders has been growing steadily. Constituting part of the
Ferghana Valley, the Batken region is located in the southwest of Kyrgyzstan. The region was
established as a seventh separate oblast of Kyrgyzstan on October 12, 1999, partially as a result
of the incursions of militant Pan-Islamist extremists into the Ferghana Valley. Located in the
northwest of Tajikistan, Sughd is home to nearly 2,349,000 inhabitants and has the largest
proportion of cultivated land in the republic, in addition to being the only region of Tajikistan
fully dependent on external sources of water. Of the 971-kilometre border dividing Kyrgyzstan
and Tajikistan, only 519 kilometers have been officially agreed upon. The disputed sections that
separate the two states run through Kyrgyzstan’s Batken and Tajikistan’s Sughd provinces.
There are also two enclaves, the Tajik districts of Vorukh and Western Qalacha, which are
located within the Batken region. These are the areas which see periodic conflict incidents
involving civilians, security forces and state officials. More specifically, the southern part of
Isfara district of the Sughd region (Chorkuh, Surkh, Shurab and Vorukh jamoats) and the western
part of the Batken region (Ak-Sai, Samarkandek and Ak-Tatyr municipalities) are the areas
identified by observers as the most prone to inter-ethnic tensions.

Ketmen Wars
The years of independence for both Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan have been marred by conflicts on
the borders of their Batken and Sughd provinces, respectively (for instance, in 2000, 2003, 2005,
2008, 2011, 2014, 2015). Per some reports, in the period from 2011 to 2013, there were 63
incidents on the Kyrgyz-Tajik border, ranging from small fights to hostage taking. Serious
conflict escalations usually involved arson, stone-throwing and the usage of garden tools. As a
result, such escalations were often labelled as “Ketmen wars.”

PROSPECTS OF REGIONAL INTEGRATION IN CENTRAL ASIAN

REPUBLICS
Regional Integration refers to a phenomenon in which a number of states present in a certain
neighborhood/region agree to cooperate with each-other politically, economically and socially, in
order to achieve prosperity regionally. In case of Central Asia, these Central Asian Republics
have always been a puzzle to analyze regarding their regional cooperation. They have a range of
historical, linguistic, religious and political aspects in common, but at the same time these
common features among the Central Asian republics have been marked by distrust, competition
and outright confrontation. The level of intra-regional trade in Central Asia is low, violent
clashes at borders occur regularly and states have inhibited trade due to restrictive visa regimes.
Disagreements range from border demarcation, water management, the supply of and payments
for energy, to responses to ethnic tensions.

The change in the trends of regional integration was seen recently when all heads of states
convened for the first time for a summit in Astana in 2018, visa regimes were relaxed and mutual
trade has picked up. There are even signs of cooperation in areas like water management, which
has been the subject of threats of war in the past. Yet these fluctuating trends in the regional
cooperation between CARS can be viewed under three main prospects i.e., political systems,
economic structures and external power interests.

 Political Systems
Politically, Central Asian states share an institutional legacy of centralized, opaque and corrupt
systems. At second glance, however, their political systems are not all that alike. Semi-
democratic Kyrgyzstan is the most pluralistic, Kazakhstan has pursued a ‘soft authoritarianism’ –
which limits elements of coercion and focuses on material enticements – and largely liberal
economic policy. Increasingly authoritarian Tajikistan, meanwhile, lacks institutional capacity.
Turkmenistan, and to a lesser extent Uzbekistan, have pursued isolationist foreign and highly
repressive domestic policies. Accordingly, the Central Asian states have behaved differently on
the international stage. Many of their strongman leaders have had little regard for their peers, no
interest in the pursuit of joint strategic objectives or compromise, and instead competed for
regional influence and were preoccupied with preserving their power. Thus, political systems
have largely worked against cooperation in the region.

 Economic Structures
Economically, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan, and to a lesser extent Uzbekistan, possess large oil
and gas resources. Mountainous Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, while having some mineral reserves
like gold or aluminum, are structurally weak. They depend on migrant workers’ remittances,
mostly from Russia, that amount to up to one third of GDP. However, they control much of the
region’s water supply, on which the agricultural sectors in the other downstream countries
depend. Kazakhstan, accounting for 60 per cent of the region’s GDP, has been a destination for
labor migration and a source of investments. Accordingly, economic structures have elements of
compatibility regarding energy trade and labor migration, but the countries’ small manufacturing
base and reliance on commodities hardly make their economies complementary. Economic
structures thus provide incentives both for cooperation and for competition among Central Asian
states.

 External Power Influence

Outside powers, lastly, have reinforced the atomized nature of Central Asian relations. Many
Central Asian republics are members of multilateral institutions, such as the Eurasian Economic
Union (EAEU) and the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) led by Russia, or the
Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) pushed by Russia and China. Even though Russia
and China have promoted such formats of regional cooperation, they have preferred a bilateral
approach to Central Asia. When disputes between states emerged, for example related to ethnic
riots in Kyrgyzstan in 2010 or during the various cross-border skirmishes, Russia and China
have mediated behind closed doors, but have not incentivized regional organizations to deal with
these issues.

Ethnic Conflicts; a Challenge to Regional Integration

After looking at the various prospects of how the regional cooperation goes on between these
Central Asian Republics, it can be seen that in all these factors ethnic groups and their conflicts
has been playing an important role as a challenge to the Regional Integration. The ethnic groups
have aggravated tensions between the Central Asian Republics and this has always hindered the
growth of Central Asia as a whole region. These Ethnic Conflicts do not only effect the domestic
conditions of the nation-states, but also create a tense situation in the entire region. The immense
human rights violations or disputes regarding borders, during such conflicts hamper the
legitimacy of the region as a whole. In Central Asia, following factors make these Ethnic groups
and conflicts the main hindrance in regional integration.
  Unresolved Legacies of the Soviet Past
During the Soviet period the region also witnessed a number of conflict escalations despite the
prevailing assumptions that territorial conflicts in Central Asia are inherently a post-Soviet
phenomenon.

 Inefficient Use of Natural Resources

Many observers have underlined that the real causes of conflict, which divide Batken and Isfara
communities on ethnic lines, are rooted in the scarcity of natural resources. In particular, water is
perceived to be a cause of conflict. In other words, water scarcity in Central Asia is defined by
the use of water rather than by its real amount. the policies of the Soviet central government
favored a sedentary lifestyle and agricultural modes of production; however, water was not
effectively managed during the Soviet times neither, while irrigation channels were in a poor
state even before the 1990s. During the period of independence, water infrastructure has only
deteriorated further, since the budgets of both governments and farms have fallen dramatically.

 Militarization of Borders
Most observers refer to a border demarcation as a solution that will ease such tensions on the
Kyrgyz-Tajik borders. Indeed, for over 25 years Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan could not agree on
border delimitation and demarcation. The map of the Ferghana Valley is marked by disputed and
porous borders and territorial units, known as ‘enclaves,’ which are separated from its mainland
by the lands of other countries. It appears that such divisions aggravate existing water and land
disputes and fuel further economic uncertainties and interethnic animosities.

 Lack of Evidence-Based Policymaking

The Ethnic Divisions in Central Asia turned out to be a conflictive situation in case of CARs due
to the Lack of evidence-based policy making. The policies, whether they are domestic or foreign,
are heavily influenced by the foreign powers. Russia and China has manipulated the policies of
these states towards each other and aggravated these conflicts indirectly, hindering the regional
integration.
ANALYSIS:
The Central Asian countries are a melting pot of different ethnicities and nationalities. These
ethnicities are the result of historical framework of Central Asia at being cross-roads of great
empires. The Ethnic Divisions deepened with time due to an increase in number of immigrants,
especially from the neighboring countries. Moreover, since these Central Asian states are
landlocked, their geographical location has played an important part in creating the ethnic
patchwork in the political and social landscape of Central Asia.

These Ethnic Divisions portray a very diverse image of the region in international arena, just like
its diverse resources and significant geo-strategic location. The problem arises with the clashes
between these ethnicities. Although they are a symbol of representation of Central Asian culture,
but the differences between these ethnic divisions has led to some serious ethnic conflicts in the
region. The label of ethnic conflict does not always explain the reasons for violence. The ethnic
conflicts in Central Asia arise and develop as a variety of local actions, which have different
sequences, logic, and motivation. These actions are performed by very different agents i.e.,
people, groups, and institutes that have their own interests and dispositions. These Ethnic
Conflicts have become a great challenge to the regional integration of Central Asia, because
when the main force of the region i.e., people, are not united, then how can a region be united.

These Ethnic conflicts are a challenge to regional integration because of the disputed borders,
scarce natural resources, economic underdevelopment and unsatisfied human needs. Moreover,
the foreign powers have played an important role in aggravating the situation between the
conflictive ethnicities. So, for a united region politically and economically, it is necessary that
people of the region are united socially. Despite their ethnicities. The regional integration should
be beyond inter-personal conflicts in order to survive in this globalized era.

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