Asel Doolotkeldieva

Asel Doolotkeldieva lives and works in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. She is an Assistant Professor at the American University of Central Asia (AUCA), where she teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in IR and Political Science. She earned her PhD from the University of Exeter (UK) in Politics and her Masters’ degree from Sciences Po Paris. She has authored several publications and she leads a number of research projects. Next to the academic responsibilities, she is also engaged as an activist and independent expert in civic struggles against authoritarianism and environmental violations.

The project 

Title: Micro-dynamics of protests in post-revolutionary Kyrgyzstan: between cycles of hope and distrust

Keywords: Social mobilizations and political regimes; Islamic revival and institutionalization of religious knowledge; Resource extraction and neoliberal economies

Selected publications
 

• “Growing religiosity among Kyrgyzstan’s female youth: Islam as a personal development project and as a social integration project”, Cahiers d’Asie Centrale (forthcoming, winter 2020).
• “Uncertainty Perpetuated? The Pitfalls of a Weakly Institutionalized Party System in Kyrgyzstan”, with Alexander Wolters, Central Asian Affairs, Issue 4, January 2017, pp. 26-50.
• “State as resource, mediator and performer: understanding the local and global politics of gold mining in Kyrgyzstan”, with John Heathershaw, Central Asian Survey, Vol. 34, Issue 1, March 2015.
• “Peripheral protests as an opportunity: “Brokers” in action”, in Laruelle, M. & Engvall, J., Kyrgyzstan beyond “Democracy Island” and “Failing State”, Lexington Books, 2015.
• “Development of political parties in rural Kyrgyzstan in semi-parliamentarian conditions”, Bishkek, 2015.

Work in Progress

Book manuscript based on PhD dissertation: Social mobilizations, politics and society in Kyrgyzstan.

• “Bringing the state back: neoliberalization of natural resources, mining conflicts and resistance of a Homo Sovieticus” (article prepared for submission).
• “Corporate Social Responsibility within Authoritarian Neoliberal Contexts: the Case of Kyrgyz Gold Mining” (article prepared for submission).
• “The growth of madrasas in Kyrgyzstan: new religious educational infrastructure and state regulation within secular governance” (article prepared for submission).
• “Religiosity among female youth: discipline, time management, self-development and social integration” (article prepared for submission).