By S. Frederick Starr ed.

Central Asia-Caucasus Institute & Silk Road Studies Program
Silk Road Paper
June 2024

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Introduction

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Nearly all commentators on the evolution of the countries of Central Asia, Mongolia, the Caucasus, and Afghanistan, (i.e., the “CAMCA” countries) have concentrated on older adults and ignored younger men and women. This collection focuses instead on members of the younger generation whose outlooks have been largely neglected until now.

But what, we must ask, is a generation? For a century Europeans and Americans have coined cliches to describe each rising cohort of young people. Early on they defined their subject as young men and women in their late teens and early twenties. Now the definition commonly stretches further back into the earlier teen years. At the same time, the concept of a generation has itself changed. It was once commonly defined in biological terms, which meant a period of twenty or more years. Today –at least in the West— a social and political “generation” is often shortened to only a single decade.

Why are the views of members of the rising generation in the CAMCA countries (Central Asia, Mongolia, the Caucasus, and Afghanistan) of importance? Very simply, because their life experience differs so starkly from that of both their parents and grandparents. Their parents were raised by people born and educated in the Soviet Union or in Mongolia, under Soviet influence. In every one of these countries the current generation of parents has also been challenged by personal contact with the modern world on a global scale and by their national governments’ efforts to respond to it. As a consequence, they sit uneasily on two stools, past and present, institutional and personal, and bravely try to seek a workable balance between them. As is clear from the essays below, they do not always succeed at this. It is no exaggeration to say that parental influence on source offspring across the region has diminished.

A second and obvious issue that distinguishes the young generation in all of the countries under study is their massive access to cellphone technology and the internet. This development, which contrasts to the experience of some but not all of their elders, gives them access to world-wide “neighborhoods” of like-minded people. This constitutes second and non-institutional forms of education, which contrasts sharply with what is offered in schools, but which is very powerful nonetheless. The scale of contact with this world among members of the young generation is immense. However, it often occurs at the price of reduced communication with their more diverse physical neighbors at home. Moreover, as is clear from the reviews included in this collection, the attention of young people is also focused as much or more on music and pop culture as on the subjects that dominate traditional newspapers, radio, and TV.

All of these pressures and tensions bear directly on educational systems across the entire region and beyond. Educational reform in a post-Soviet spirit has indeed gone forward in all the countries under study, but it has been slow, tentative, and bureaucratic. Worse, to the extent it exists at all, reform has been concentrated at the university level. In some countries the rising generation has been emancipated from Soviet-type training in lower schools by the appearance of a few private institutions, but these are few in number and accessible only to the well-to-do. For the most part, younger men and women across the region are still the product of Soviet-type lower schools. While this results in high competence in mathematics and basic science, it lags in both the social sciences and humanities, leaving these fields wide open to informal learning from the internet and other non-traditional sources.

It goes without saying that the contemporary world is full of continuities that often go unnoticed. Upbringing in the family, the impact of neighbors, religion, traditional life-cycle customs, and deep-rooted musical traditions all remain much as they were in the past. Yet, acknowledging this, it is hard to imagine three generations whose life experiences differ more radically from each other than those of a typical CAMCA family over the course of recent decades.

In a first effort to map at least the outlines of the rising generation across the CAMCA region, the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute turned to its own region-wide team of experts, the 280 men and women from all ten countries who have participated in the fellowship program launched fifteen years ago by the Rumsfeld Foundation and our Institute. Now a diverse band of highly accomplished members of their societies, these leaders of business, government, the professions, and press train and hire older members of the rising generation and work closely with them on a daily basis. Many also observe the young through their own children and through their children’s friends and schoolmates.

As editors, we will resist the temptation to extract conclusions from the diverse evidence in this report or to propose implications for each of the ten societies included and for the larger region of which they are all a part. This is instead the challenge which our CAMCA contributors set before each reader. To guide such reflection, we offer the following five questions: First, is it possible to speak of this region’s rising generation as a single cohort and, if so, what are its boundary ages? Second, is it possible to speak of common generational features across the entire region, or should we focus instead on smaller groupings or even on the distinct generational identities of individual countries? Third, looking forward, what degree of discontinuity should we anticipate on a national, sub-regional, and regionwide basis? Fourth, are the CAMCA countries prepared to deal with the discontinuities and changes that the rising generation may generate? And, fifth, to what degree is the entire CAMCA region coming to participate in what French sociologist Claude Levi-Strauss called “the global monoculture”?

 

A presentation by the Spring 2024 CAMCA Fellows, focusing on the advancement of digital connectivity in Central Asia, Mongolia, the Caucasus, and Afghanistan. In the interconnected landscape of the CAMCA region, digital connectivity serves as a cornerstone for both economic prosperity and social progress. This event is not merely about enhancing digital infrastructure; it's about fostering deeper connections across the region. The Fellows will delve into how overcoming challenges is crucial for unlocking economic potential, ensuring equitable access, and driving regional integrati

 
Published in Forums & Events

Register for the annual Central Asia - Mongolia - Caucasus - Afghansitan (CAMCA) Regional Forum scheduled for June 12-13 in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. The CAMCA Regional Forum is a non-political and non-partisan Forum established to promote region-wide discussions on means of advancing economic growth and development in the 10 countries of the region: Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. It promotes this goal by fostering dialogue and interaction among rising young leaders from all sectors in the 10 countries of the region, as well as with international leaders and stakeholders. The Forum organizers - the CAMCA Network, Central Asia-Caucasus Institute and the Rumsfeld Foundation - believe that expanded communication and collaboration among talented professionals from a range of fields can significantly contribute to economic, political and social development on both a national and regional basis.

The Forum is a premier opportunity to engage with prominent influencers and leaders in the CAMCA region and to gain firsthand insights on the region’s pulse and latest developments. The Forum’s non-political and non-partisan mission facilitates an environment for open conversation aimed toward the prosperity of the region and its people. The Forum was established as one of the first and only platforms to bring together representatives of the 10 CAMCA countries, spanning from the South Caucasus to Mongolia, to discuss emerging opportunities for regional cooperation and integration. Due to the diverse and impressive pool of participants, the Forum essentially serves as a ‘one-stop shop’ for professionals of all sectors who are interested in regional cooperation and partnerships, as well as for outside nations, businesses and organizations that have an interest in engaging with the region. 

Click here for more information and to register.

Published in Forums & Events
Thursday, 03 November 2022 20:47

In-Person Meeting: CAMCA: A New Era

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In-Person Meeting

Co-organized by the CAMCA Forum founders:
The Central Asia-Caucasus Institute at AFPC
The CAMCA Network
The Rumsfeld Foundation

Forum on CAMCA: A New Era

Join the fall 2022 Rumsfled Foundation Central Asia, Mongolia, the Caucasus and Afghanistan (CAMCA) fellows for a presentation on the region's next chapter. From it's geostrategic location to its large and viable workforce, CAMCA countries have the potential to create a shared economic system supporting regional trade investments, labor and peacekeeping, Join the Fellows to learn how the U.S. can better interact with, and invest in, this rapidly developing region.

Click to register

When: Wednesday November 9, 3:00 - 4:30 PM EST 

WhereAmerican Foreign Policy Council, 509 C Street, NE, Washington, DC 20002

Moderator: Svante Cornell, Director, Central Asia-Caucasus Institute at American Foreign Policy Council

 

Published in Forums & Events

Tajikistan's Emerging Private Business Development

'CAMCA Conversations': Co-organized by The Central Asia-Caucasus Institute at AFPC, The CAMCA Network and The Rumsfeld Foundation

When: Thursday, January 20, 2022, 10-11:30 AM EST

This forum will discuss the rising private sector in Tajikistan, presented by the impressive young entrepreneurs who are making it happen.  
 

Speakers:

  • Shuhrat Mirzoev, Economist and Co-Founder, IRSHAD Consulting; CAMCA Network Member
  • Ozod Davlatshoev, CEO, T-Cell Tajikistan; Executive Board Member, Accelerate Prosperity; CAMCA Network Member
  • Abdullo Kurbanov, Co-founder and CEO, Alif Bank; CAMCA Network Member
  • Firuza Rahimova, Program Officer, Swiss Cooperation Office in Tajikistan; CAMCA Network Member
  • Farukh Sultonov, Country Office, IFC; CAMCA Network Member

 Moderator:   

  •  S. Frederick Starr, Chairman, Central Asia-Caucasus Institute at American Foreign Policy Council

 When: Thursday, January 20, 2022,10:00 -11:30 AM EST

 

Click here to sign up for CACI Forum mailing list

Published in Forums & Events
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