Abstract
The Transformation of Central Asia: States and Societies from
Soviet Rule to Independence. Edited by Pauline Jones Luong.
Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2004. 352p. $49.95 cloth, $22.95
paper. The closed nature of the Soviet system meant that little was known
about the republics on the periphery, particularly those of Central
Asia. Most scholars viewed the region as a cotton colony of the Soviet
Union dominated by a largely traditional, feudal society impervious to
Western understanding. Despite greater access to the region and its
peoples in the wake of the collapse of communism, the perception that
the region remained under Moscow's shadow continued to suppress
interest among nonspecialists. More recently, however, renewed interest
in the Muslim world brought on by the war on terror has changed all of
that. Specialists in international relations, security studies, and
comparative politics, in particular, are intrigued by any number of
questions, not the least of which are the persistence of
authoritarianism and the inability of radical Islam to gain traction in
Central Asia.