The Formation of Kyrgyz Foreign Policy, 1991--2004

Download or read book The Formation of Kyrgyz Foreign Policy, 1991--2004 written by Thomas J. C. Wood and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page 740 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This empirical study, based on extensive field research, interviews with key actors, and use of Kyrgyz and Russian sources, examines the formation of a distinct foreign policy in a small Central Asian state, Kyrgyzstan, following her independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. Lacking foreign policy traditions as a separate entity from the USSR, Kyrgyzstan synthesized a foreign policy from anew. In Chapter 1, I examine the literature on nationalism, ideology and nation-building in a post-imperial context and evaluate Kyrgyzstan as a case study from the perspective of small state literature. In Chapters 2 and 3, I analyze the arrival of the modern state and nation-building efforts in Kyrgyzstan after 1991. I argue that Kyrgyz nationalism is restrained by the need to reconcile her large non-Kyrgyz minority population, dictating a typical small state foreign policy eschewing construction of a capsule state, or irredentism.