Nation-Building, Culture, and Problems of Ethnocultural Identity in Central Asia: The Case of Uzbekistan

Abstract

A comment on Will Kymlicka's "Western Political Theory and Ethnic Relations in Eastern Europe" (2001) considers the applicability of Western experience to Uzbekistan. Different development priorities & paths following independence in Central Asia underpin pronounced cross-national divergence in attitudes toward the Soviet legacy & its cultural heritage, particularly Russian culture & language. In addition, postindependence revealed the tension between modern nation building & traditional management of multiethnicity, ethnocultural diversity, & multiculturalism. The deepening of ethnocultural differences is then demonstrated with an examination of Tajik & Uzbek claims related to urban civilization. Resolution of these problems hinges on the ability for elites to move from rhetoric to practical measures in developing a multiethnocultural society & ethnocultural pluralism. J. Zendejas