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Centre for Arab and Islamic Studies · ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences
This course covers a predominantly Muslim region, which has come to prominence in world politics since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Its focus is on the national politics and regional and international relations of Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, with references to other players' role in the region. The course concentrates on selected themes concerning political and social change, economic modernisation and regional security against the backdrop of sectarian, ethnolinguistic and ideological diversity, as well as outside interference and geopolitical rivalry.
3000 word essay
Learning outcomes 1, 2, 3, 4
4 hour online exam
Learning outcomes 3, 4
Tutorial participation
Learning outcomes 2, 4
130 hours of total student learning time made up from: a) 36 hours of contact over 12 weeks: 24 hours of lectures and 12 hours of tutorials; and b) 94 hours of independent student research, reading and writing.
The course uses an electronic reading brick available on Wattle. Preliminary Reading Sally N. Cummings, Understanding Central Asia Politics and contested transformations. London: Routledge, 2012. Jeroen Van den Bosch, Adrien Fauve, Bruno De Cordier (eds.), The European Handbook of Central Asian Studies. ibidem-Verlag: Stuttgart, 2021. Kirill Nourzhanov and Amin Saikal, The Spectre of Afghanistan: Security in Central Asia. London: Bloomsbury, 2021.