A Chat in the Yurt

A Chat in the Yurt - Episode XXIX: Soviet Heritage Tourism by EUCAM

A Chat in the Yurt - Episode XXVIII: Migration and discrimination by EUCAM

A Chat in the Yurt - Episode XXVII: Vulnerability and harm reduction by EUCAM

A Chat in the Yurt - Episode XXVI: (GO)NGOs by EUCAM

A Chat in the Yurt - Episode XXV: Climate change by EUCAM

A Chat in the Yurt - Episode XXV: Climate change (Teaser) by EUCAM

Step into our Yurt and join us for a monthly conversation on Europe-Central Asia developments. In these series of podcasts EUCAM welcomes guests from both regions to discuss exciting new research and the latest developments in Europe and Central Asia. Guests range from academics to policymakers and from journalists to civil society activists. What is happening in Europe that Central Asians should know about? What events are unfolding in Central Asia that Europeans should understand? Together, we discuss society trends, political developments, and economic turns while assessing the past and looking ahead to what may unfold. In this episode, hosts Rashid Gabdulhakov and Kamila Smagulova meet with Timur Dadabaev, who is a Professor of International Relations and the Director of the Special Programme for Japanese and Eurasian Studies at the Graduate School of Social Sciences and Humanities, University of Tsukuba in Japan. Timur explains how Central Asian regional identity evolves distinctly from Eastern Europe, Russia or South Asia while it has an inclusive disposition towards different local and external influences. In this way Central Asian countries can accept their Soviet past, use Turkish connectivity, and work with China, Europe and Russia. In a frank exchange Timur, Kamila and Rashid discuss the differences between Central Asian and European regional identities. They also address how youth can percieve regional identity, that seems weak 'at home' but strong 'abroad'.

Step into our Yurt and join us for a monthly conversation on Europe-Central Asia developments. In these series of podcasts EUCAM welcomes guests from both regions to discuss exciting new research and the latest developments in Europe and Central Asia. Guests range from academics to policymakers and from journalists to civil society activists. What is happening in Europe that Central Asians should know about? What events are unfolding in Central Asia that Europeans should understand? Together, we discuss society trends, political developments, and economic turns while assessing the past and looking ahead to what may unfold. In this episode, hosts Rashid Gabdulhakov and Yelena Kilina meet with Douwe van der Meer who is an independent researcher focusing on energy, climate, water and security issues in Central Asia and the South Caucasus and with Julian Postulart who specializes on the South Caucasus and Central Asia, with a background in regional geopolitics, memory and identity politics, and military and security affairs. Together they published Receding Waters, Rising Challenges: Navigating the Caspian Sea’s Geopolitical Moment. The podcasts discusses what is happening in the Caspian ecology, focussing on concerns over the Sea’s water level. At a time when the Caspian features in geopolitical calculations of littoral states and European Union corridor plans, it should be imperative to avoid an Aral Sea scenario that would negatively affect all stakeholders.

Step into our Yurt and join us for a monthly conversation on Europe-Central Asia developments. In these series of podcasts EUCAM welcomes guests from both regions to discuss exciting new research and the latest developments in Europe and Central Asia. Guests range from academics to policymakers and from journalists to civil society activists. What is happening in Europe that Central Asians should know about? What events are unfolding in Central Asia that Europeans should understand? Together, we discuss society trends, political developments, and economic turns while assessing the past and looking ahead to what may unfold. In this episode, hosts Rashid Gabdulhakov and Yelena Kilina meet with Dina Sharipova (Associate Professor at Nazarbayev University, Kazakhstan) and Alma Kudebayeva (Associate Professor at KIMEP University, Kazakhstan) to discuss ‘Changing Well-Being in Central Asia: Evidence from Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan’. Comparing Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, but also Uzbekistan, the conversation explores subjective well-being or how people evaluate their lives across economic, social, political and cognitive dimensions. One key aspect is the perception of the level of freedom, which often differs from the actual state of freedom. The idea of 'a good life' that was a hot topic some years ago in EU-Central Asia relations is also considered in the chat as well as the policy implications of the concept of subjective well-being.

Step into our Yurt and join us for a monthly conversation on Europe-Central Asia developments. In these series of podcasts EUCAM welcomes guests from both regions to discuss exciting new research and the latest developments in Europe and Central Asia. Guests range from academics to policymakers and from journalists to civil society activists. What is happening in Europe that Central Asians should know about? What events are unfolding in Central Asia that Europeans should understand? Together, we discuss society trends, political developments, and economic turns while assessing the past and looking ahead to what may unfold. In this episode, hosts Rashid Gabdulhakov and Kamila Smagulova are back in the classroom with Pal Dunay, director of the OSCE Academy in Bishkek, to discuss education in Central Asia. We learn about the OSCE Academy and the role it plays in educating talented youth from Central Asia and we hear about the OSCE Academy's research focus. Hosts and guest discuss the link between education and dialogue between people, groups and countries.

Step into our Yurt and join us for a monthly conversation on Europe-Central Asia developments. In these series of podcasts EUCAM welcomes guests from both regions to discuss exciting new research and the latest developments in Europe and Central Asia. Guests range from academics to policymakers and from journalists to civil society activists. What is happening in Europe that Central Asians should know about? What events are unfolding in Central Asia that Europeans should understand? Together, we discuss society trends, political developments, and economic turns while assessing the past and looking ahead to what may unfold. In this episode, hosts Yelena Kilina and Kamila Smagulova meet with Sofya Du-Boulay, visiting fellow at the University of Sussex and senior lecturer at Alo-Too International University and Alesia Rudnik who is a PhD candidate in political science at Karlstad University and director of the Center for New Ideas. Together they discuss a recent ‘special issue’ on ‘political succession and legitimation in post-Soviet Eurasia’ that looks into the cases of Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, and Belarus. The guests assess parallels and differences between the cases of Azerbaijan, Belarus, and Kazakhstan. The discussion ranges from the increased online presence of the regimes to their relationships with the European Union.

Step into our Yurt and join us for a monthly conversation on Europe-Central Asia developments. In these series of podcasts EUCAM welcomes guests from both regions to discuss exciting new research and the latest developments in Europe and Central Asia. Guests range from academics to policymakers and from journalists to civil society activists. What is happening in Europe that Central Asians should know about? What events are unfolding in Central Asia that Europeans should understand? Together, we discuss society trends, political developments, and economic turns while assessing the past and looking ahead to what may unfold. In this episode, hosts Rashid Gabdulhakov and Kamila Smagulova meet with Niels Drost who is a research fellow at the Russia and Eastern Europe Centre of Clingendael. He is also one of the coordinators of the REKA network that aims to bring Dutch research communities together withpolicymakers over developments in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. The other guest is Jos Boonstra, EUCAM coordinator and senior researcher at CESS. Clingendael and CESS each published a paper on Europe-Central Asia relations. Clingendael’ s study Central Asia emerging from the shadows outlines Central Asia’s geopolitical landscape and EU-Central Asia relations while the EUCAM policy brief EU-Central Asia connectivity: Using all the pieces discusses the increased European and Central Asian focus on connectivity in building energy, transport and data connections.

Step into our Yurt and join us for a monthly conversation on Europe-Central Asia developments. In these series of podcasts EUCAM welcomes guests from both regions to discuss exciting new research and the latest developments in Europe and Central Asia. Guests range from academics to policymakers and from journalists to civil society activists. What is happening in Europe that Central Asians should know about? What events are unfolding in Central Asia that Europeans should understand? Together, we discuss society trends, political developments, and economic turns while assessing the past and looking ahead to what may unfold. In this episode, host Rashid Gabdulhakov interviews Kamila Smagulova who is a PhD candidate at Leiden University (and normally co-host of this podcast) and Jos Boonstra, EUCAM coordinator at CESS to discuss the EUCAM policy brief European Development Cooperation with Central Asia: From abstract to concrete. In the chat the ins and outs of EU development cooperation with Central Asia are discussed from ‘budget support’ to ‘blending and guarantees’ and a case is made for increased civil society attention to issues that the EU and Central Asia increasingly cooperate on; digitalisation and energy transition. Kamila and Jos present a few of their eight recommendations to make development cooperation focused on human interaction with long-term impacts on cooperation between both regions.

Step into our Yurt and join us for a monthly conversation on Europe-Central Asia developments. In these series of podcasts EUCAM welcomes guests from both regions to discuss exciting new research and the latest developments in Europe and Central Asia. Guests range from academics to policymakers and from journalists to civil society activists. What is happening in Europe that Central Asians should know about? What events are unfolding in Central Asia that Europeans should understand? Together, we discuss society trends, political developments, and economic turns while assessing the past and looking ahead to what may unfold. In this episode hosts Rashid Gabdulhakov and Kamila Smagulova meet with Laylo Merali, a cybersecurity specialist from Central Asia, currently based in Geneva and Anouk Vos who is the founder of Rotterdam-based Revnext - a consulting firm focused on high-tech issues. The discussion revolved around the cyber security landscape in Central Asia and the challenges the countries face.

Step into our Yurt and join us for a monthly conversation on Europe-Central Asia developments. In these series of podcasts EUCAM welcomes guests from both regions to discuss exciting new research and the latest developments in Europe and Central Asia. Guests range from academics to policymakers and from journalists to civil society activists. What is happening in Europe that Central Asians should know about? What events are unfolding in Central Asia that Europeans should understand? Together, we discuss society trends, political developments, and economic turns while assessing the past and looking ahead to what may unfold. In this episode hosts Rashid Gabdulhakov and Kamila Smagulova meet with Bakhytzhan Kurmanov (Research Fellow at the Institute of Public Policy and Administration, University of Central Asia in Kyrgyzstan) and Colin Knox (Emeritus Professor Ulster University (UK) and Adjunct Professor at Nazarbayev University in Kazakhstan) for a discussion on digital activism and authoritarian legitimation in Central Asia.

Step into our Yurt and join us for a monthly conversation on Europe-Central Asia developments. In these series of podcasts EUCAM welcomes guests from both regions to discuss exciting new research and the latest developments in Europe and Central Asia. Guests range from academics to policymakers and from journalists to civil society activists. What is happening in Europe that Central Asians should know about? What events are unfolding in Central Asia that Europeans should understand? Together, we discuss society trends, political developments, and economic turns while assessing the past and looking ahead to what may unfold. In the fifteenth episode hosts Rashid Gabdulhakov and Kamila Smagulova meet with director Kasiet Ysmanova and research fellow Albina Yun of Central Asia Barometer to discuss their recent report on How to support survivors of domestic violence in rural Kyrgyzstan better?

Step into our Yurt and join us for a monthly conversation on Europe-Central Asia developments. In these series of podcasts EUCAM welcomes guests from both regions to discuss exciting new research and the latest developments in Europe and Central Asia. Guests range from academics to policymakers and from journalists to civil society activists. What is happening in Europe that Central Asians should know about? What events are unfolding in Central Asia that Europeans should understand? Together, we discuss society trends, political developments, and economic turns while assessing the past and looking ahead to what may unfold. In the fourteenth episode Rashid Gabdulhakov and Kamila Smagulova are joined by Costas Politis, Chairman of the Greek Cultural Center in Tashkent, in a discussion focused on the Greek diaspora in Uzbekistan.

Step into our Yurt and join us for a monthly conversation on Europe-Central Asia developments. In these series of podcasts EUCAM welcomes guests from both regions to discuss exciting new research and the latest developments in Europe and Central Asia. Guests range from academics to policymakers and from journalists to civil society activists. What is happening in Europe that Central Asians should know about? What events are unfolding in Central Asia that Europeans should understand? Together, we discuss society trends, political developments, and economic turns while assessing the past and looking ahead to what may unfold. In the thirteenth episode Rashid Gabdulhakov and Kamila Smagulova are joined by Gulzat Botoeva who is a senior lecturer in Criminology at Swansea University and Assel Tutumlu, assistant professor in Political Science at the Near East University. Together they discuss the USTA mentorship programme, which is an academic grassroots programme that supports Central Asian scholars in publishing in renown academic journals.

Step into our Yurt and join us for a monthly conversation on Europe-Central Asia developments. In these series of podcasts EUCAM welcomes guests from both regions to discuss exciting new research and the latest developments in Europe and Central Asia. Guests range from academics to policymakers and from journalists to civil society activists. What is happening in Europe that Central Asians should know about? What events are unfolding in Central Asia that Europeans should understand? Together, we discuss society trends, political developments, and economic turns while assessing the past and looking ahead to what may unfold. In the twelfth episode Rashid Gabdulhakov and Kamila Smagulova talk are joined by Alexa Kurmanov, a PhD candidate in Anthropology at the University of California, Berkeley. Together they discuss challenges in doing sensitive field research in Central Asia.

Step into our Yurt and join us for a monthly conversation on Europe-Central Asia developments. In these series of podcasts EUCAM welcomes guests from both regions to discuss exciting new research and the latest developments in Europe and Central Asia. Guests range from academics to policymakers and from journalists to civil society activists. What is happening in Europe that Central Asians should know about? What events are unfolding in Central Asia that Europeans should understand? Together, we discuss society trends, political developments, and economic turns while assessing the past and looking ahead to what may unfold. In the eleventh episode Rashid Gabdulhakov and Kamila Smagulova talk are joined by Dr. Aijan Sharshenova to discuss about Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which has been going on for nearly two years, and its impact on Central Asia.

Step into our Yurt and join us for a monthly conversation on Europe-Central Asia developments. In these series of podcasts EUCAM welcomes guests from both regions to discuss exciting new research and the latest developments in Europe and Central Asia. Guests range from academics to policymakers and from journalists to civil society activists. What is happening in Europe that Central Asians should know about? What events are unfolding in Central Asia that Europeans should understand? Together, we discuss society trends, political developments, and economic turns while assessing the past and looking ahead to what may unfold. In the tenth episode Yelena and Jos talk about the concept of strategic autonomy and how it might apply to Central Asia together with Nargis Kassenova, senior fellow and director of the Program on Central Asia at the Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies (Harvard University).

Step into our Yurt and join us for a monthly conversation on Europe-Central Asia developments. In these series of podcasts EUCAM welcomes guests from both regions to discuss exciting new research and the latest developments in Europe and Central Asia. Guests range from academics to policymakers and from journalists to civil society activists. What is happening in Europe that Central Asians should know about? What events are unfolding in Central Asia that Europeans should understand? Together, we discuss society trends, political developments, and economic turns while assessing the past and looking ahead to what may unfold. In the ninth episode Rashid and Yelena talk about decarbonization, energy transition, and climate policy in Central Asia with Roman Vakulchuk, senior researcher at NUPI (the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs).

Step into our Yurt and join us for a monthly conversation on Europe-Central Asia developments. In these series of podcasts EUCAM welcomes guests from both regions to discuss exciting new research and the latest developments in Europe and Central Asia. Guests range from academics to policymakers and from journalists to civil society activists. What is happening in Europe that Central Asians should know about? What events are unfolding in Central Asia that Europeans should understand? Together, we discuss society trends, political developments, and economic turns while assessing the past and looking ahead to what may unfold. In the eighth episode Yelena Kilina hosts Sonya Imin, who is a mixed Uyghur American PhD researcher, artist and filmmaker focusing on Uyghur artistic production in the diaspora. The discussion revolves around one of the recent projects, a Contemporary Uyghur Anthology: "Under the Mulberry Tree," which is a collection of art, poetry and prose that made its debut last year and was released again earlier this spring.

Step into our Yurt and join us for a monthly conversation on Europe-Central Asia developments. In these series of podcasts EUCAM welcomes guests from both regions to discuss exciting new research and the latest developments in Europe and Central Asia. Guests range from academics to policymakers and from journalists to civil society activists. What is happening in Europe that Central Asians should know about? What events are unfolding in Central Asia that Europeans should understand? Together, we discuss society trends, political developments, and economic turns while assessing the past and looking ahead to what may unfold. In the seventh episode Rashid and Yelena talk about the impact of climate change in Central Asia together with Khudonazar Imomyorbekov, an environmental specialist from Tajikistan focusing on sustainable development and forward-looking societies in Central Asia.

Step into our Yurt and join us for a monthly conversation on Europe-Central Asia developments. In these series of podcasts EUCAM welcomes guests from both regions to discuss exciting new research and the latest developments in Europe and Central Asia. Guests range from academics to policymakers and from journalists to civil society activists. What is happening in Europe that Central Asians should know about? What events are unfolding in Central Asia that Europeans should understand? Together, we discuss society trends, political developments, and economic turns while assessing the past and looking ahead to what may unfold. In the sixth episode Rashid and Yelena talk about Team Europe initiatives on Digital Connectivity and on Water, Energy and Climate in Central Asia together with Alouddin Komilov, a researcher from Uzbekistan, currently affiliated with the Institute for Advanced International Studies and the University of World Economy and Diplomacy in Tashkent and Shyngys Zipatolla, a researcher from Kazakhstan, currently working as a lecturer at Karaganda Buketov University in Kazakhstan.

Step into our Yurt and join us for a monthly conversation on Europe-Central Asia developments. In these series of podcasts EUCAM welcomes guests from both regions to discuss exciting new research and the latest developments in Europe and Central Asia. Guests range from academics to policymakers and from journalists to civil society activists. What is happening in Europe that Central Asians should know about? What events are unfolding in Central Asia that Europeans should understand? Together, we discuss society trends, political developments, and economic turns while assessing the past and looking ahead to what may unfold. In the fifth episode Jos Boonstra, in the role of host, discusses the scope, narrative and perceptions of Russian propaganda in Kyrgyzstan togetehr with Dr Rashid Gabdulhakov (Assistant professor, Centre for Media and Journalist Studies, University of Groningen) and Boris Nurdinov (Project Coordinator, Institute for War and Peace Reporting, Kyrgyzstan).

Step into our Yurt and join us for a monthly conversation on Europe-Central Asia developments. In these series of podcasts EUCAM welcomes guests from both regions to discuss exciting new research and the latest developments in Europe and Central Asia. Guests range from academics to policymakers and from journalists to civil society activists. What is happening in Europe that Central Asians should know about? What events are unfolding in Central Asia that Europeans should understand? Together, we discuss society trends, political developments, and economic turns while assessing the past and looking ahead to what may unfold. In the fourth episode Rashid Gabdulhakov welcomes Florian Coppenrath, PhD candidate at the Humboldt University of Berlin and associated researcher at the Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient in Berlin for a discussion about the economics of hip-hop music production in Kyrgyzstan.

Step into our Yurt and join us for a monthly conversation on Europe-Central Asia developments. In these series of podcasts EUCAM welcomes guests from both regions to discuss exciting new research and the latest developments in Europe and Central Asia. Guests range from academics to policymakers and from journalists to civil society activists. What is happening in Europe that Central Asians should know about? What events are unfolding in Central Asia that Europeans should understand? Together, we discuss society trends, political developments, and economic turns while assessing the past and looking ahead to what may unfold. In the third episode we welcome two EUCAM associate researchers, Dr. Fabienne Bossuyt and Nafisa Hasanova and together we place Uzbekistan in the spotlight, covering domestic, regional and foreign policy issues.

Step into our Yurt and join us for a monthly conversation on Europe-Central Asia developments. In these series of podcasts EUCAM welcomes guests from both regions to discuss exciting new research and the latest developments in Europe and Central Asia. Guests range from academics to policymakers and from journalists to civil society activists. What is happening in Europe that Central Asians should know about? What events are unfolding in Central Asia that Europeans should understand? Together, we discuss society trends, political developments, and economic turns while assessing the past and looking ahead to what may unfold. In the second episode we welcome from Kazakhstan an EUCAM fellow alumna, Kamila Smagulova and Dr. Zhanibek Arynov, for a discussion on ‘The Future of EU - Kazakhstan Relations’.

Step into our Yurt and join us for a monthly conversation on Europe-Central Asia developments. In these series of podcasts EUCAM welcomes guests from both regions to discuss exciting new research and the latest developments in Europe and Central Asia. Guests range from academics to policymakers and from journalists to civil society activists. What is happening in Europe that Central Asians should know about? What events are unfolding in Central Asia that Europeans should understand? Together, we discuss society trends, political developments, and economic turns while assessing the past and looking ahead to what may unfold. In this first episode we welcome Irna Hofman, the Netherlands; and EUCAM fellow alumni Nushofarin Noziri, Tajikistan and Sevara Khamidova, Kyrgyzstan/Uzbekistan, for a discussion on ‘Modern Day Central Asia’.