neweurasia has been zooming up and down Kazakhstan all week to talk about our book, “CyberChaikhana: Digital Conversations from Central Asia”. Our managing editor for the English site, who also served as the book’s editor, Christopher Schwartz, gives his impressions of the tour. Reactions “have ranged immensely,” he explains, and adds a personal note.

Central Asia BarCamp 2011 was a resounding success, reports neweurasia’s Schwartz. Also, upcoming CyberChaikhana events: Zh. Bekturova Library in Karaganda (today), National Press Center @ Astana (Wednesday), AUCA @ Bishkek (Saturday). Click “Read More” for details.

It’s BarCamp time again, and as always neweurasia shall be well-represented, except now we’ll be showing off our baby — CyberChaikhana: Digital Conversations from Central Asia!

Amangelen Shapudakov, an 80-year-old activist, has been forcibly confined to a pyschiatric hospital by Turkmen authorities after he accused a local official of corruption during an interview with RFE/RL. This is the latest event in an ongoing crackdown. neweurasia’s Schwartz asks whether we’re witnessing a Stalinistic purge, or actually something much worse: “sheer ritualistic self-destructiveness”.

This weekend marks the one-year anniversary of last year’s revolution in Kyrgyzstan, and considering the sheer scale and importance of the story, not to mention all the grey hairs it gave me as an editor …

In conjunction with

Conference announcement: “The Impact of Events in the Arab World on Central Asia, the Caucasus and Turkey”
Featuring:

Anthony Bowyer, Program Manager, Caucasus and Central Asia, International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES);
Ambassador John E. …

Continuing with the academic theme of this week’s Top Stories, the Asia Society in New York City has announced that it’s accepting applicants to its prestigious Bernard Schwartz Fellows Program. “The application process is highly competitive. Candidates are drawn from the fields of government, academia, journalism, business, and civil society. Nominations are by invitation or by application. The defining qualifications for Bernard Schwartz Fellows are a solid record of distinction, a soundly conceived project proposal with clear policy relevance, and a commitment to engaging the policy community and the broader public.”

To our readers in the USA: a potentially important, and certainly very pertinent and interesting conference scheduled to take place at Johns Hopkins University this Wednesday. “Events in Kyrgyzstan during the year since the fall of President Bakiyev have left many basic questions unresolved. To consider what has and has not happened, and what is likely still to occur, CACI has assembled a panel of experts. In addition to considering indigenous developments they will discuss the continuing influence of other states on Kyrgyz affairs.”

Hizb Ut-Tahrir envisions the establishment of a pan-Islamic super-state, but would it even work? Is it even what Muslims want? neweurasia’s Schwartz doesn’t think so. What’s at stake are two very different understandings of unity and humanity, the one of everyday people versus the one of radicals — and that difference is everything.

Hizb Ut-Tahrir believes they can be against Modernity but still make use of modern technology and political concepts, but is that really possible? They also believe that they are the defenders of the global Islamic community, but putting aside whether they can make such a claim, is it even a good idea? neweurasia’s Schwartz weighs in. “This is where Hizb Ut-Tahrir’s vision of the Caliphate is put to test” he writes.