Pandemic Politics in Central Asia

This book examines how the authoritarian regimes of Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan exploited the Covid-19 pandemic to consolidate their political control over Central Asia. Through restrictive policies and strategic manipulation, these governments reshaped the region's politics and societies during 2020-2022. This volume offers readers an insight into three key areas where Central Asia's pandemic power grab was most visible: mobility control, whereby restrictive legislation limited freedom of movement and suppressed dissent; authoritarian information flows, whereby COVID-19-related measures aligned media and digital information to government messaging, further curtailing freedom of expression; and the international politics of the pandemic, whereby the regimes capitalised on global instability to strengthen their kleptocratic hold over Central Asia's politics and society. This book provides a detailed analysis of these strategies, offering a compelling exploration of how crises can be used to entrench authoritarianism. It is ideal for scholars, students, and professionals in political science, international relations, and Central Asian Studies. The book is also valuable to readers interested in understanding the intersection between public health crises and authoritarian governance. The Open Access version of this book, available at https://www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license.

Luca Anceschi is Professor in Eurasian Studies at the University of Glasgow, where he is also the editor of Europe-Asia Studies.

Introduction 1. Authoritarian Pandemic Management: A Framework for Analysis 2. Before the Pandemic: Crisis Management in Central Asia 3. States of Emergency. Mobility Control as an Instrument of Authoritarian Consolidation 4. Pandemic Narratives in Central Asia 5. Shoot the Messenger. Pandemic Communication through Disinformation and Media Repression 6. Central Asia and the International Politics of the Pandemic 7. Conclusion