Cjss second Issue: cjss second Issue qxd

ekonomikuri TanamSromlobis da ganviTarebis 
organizaciisa da arasamTavrobo organizaciebis
roli centraluri aziis respublikebSi
savaS genCi
faTihis universiteti
entraluri aziis regioni, romelSic 5 qveyana Sedis, gazisa da
navTobis mniSvnelovan eqsportiors warmoadgens ruseTs, CineTsa
da irans Soris. dasavleTis gavlenis Sedegad, regioni gadaiqca
liberaluri demokratiis qveynad.
arasamTavrobo organizaciebma udidesi roli iTamaSes cen-
traluri aziis regionSi demokratiis ganviTrebis TvalsazrisiT.
mas mxars uWerda dasavleTis mTavroba da iseTi saerTaSoriso
organizaciebi, rogorebicaa gaerTienebuli erebi da msoflio
banki. naSromi ganixilavs regionSi ganviTarebul siZneleebsa da
adgilobrivi Tu saerTaSoriso, arasamTavrobo organizaciebis
rols qveynis demokratizaciis procesis warmarTvaSi. mravali
winaaRmdegobis miuxedavad, ucxo qveynebis daxmarebiT Camoyal-
ibda da gaZlierda samoqalaqo sazogadoeba.     
erTi sistemidan meoreze, am SemTxvevaSi, komunizmidan
demokratiaze  gadasvlam, gamoaaSkarava, rom mzaoba aseTi
cvlilebebisTvis ar arsebobda. statiaSi saubari iqneba us-
afrTxoebis, evropasTan TanamSromlobis da evro kavSiris
Sesaxeb, romelic udides samasaxurs uwevs samoqalaqo sazoga-
doebas da arasamTavrobo organizaciebs sistemis CanacvlebaSi.
aseve naSromi ganixilavs am ori organizaciis mniSvnelobas, iseTi
demokratiuli da liberaluri organoebis CamoyalibebaSi, ro-
goricaa usafrTxoeba, adamianis uflebaTa dacva da arCevnebi.           
Promoting Long-term Stability in Central Asia
Central Asia stretches from Russia in the north to Afghanistan in the
south and from the Caspian Sea in the west to the Xinjiang province of China
to the east. It is comprised of five former Soviet Republics that became sov-
ereign in 1991: Kazakhstan; Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan; Turkmenistan and Uzbek-
istan. Central Asia, identified as the Silk Road and the home of Tamerlane, is
c
c
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a turning point of great cultures and civilizations. After the collapse of the So-
viet Union, the world recognized the independence of all the former Central
Asian republics, USA and EU supported their integration into Western organ-
izations, and elicited Turkish support to counter Iranian pressure in the re-
gion.
Now they sit strategically between Russia, China and Iran and hold some
of the world’s largest resources of oil and natural gas. National and ethnic
identities formerly suppressed now find appearance in language, religion, the
arts, new international alignments and, irregularly, severe civil conflicts. 
Since 1991 at least, it has been extensively used by the international
community to promote transition in the former Communist countries, includ-
ing of course Central Asia. International institutions, UN agencies and the
World Bank are also making use of this concept, while it is by definition cen-
tral to the Non-governmental organizations (NGO’s) approach. Political scien-
tists and anthropologists have already debated the relevance of such a
concept. The existing hard economic conditions have also left a number of
Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries dependent on inter-
national aid. In most cases, willingness to support democratic changes in so-
ciety is a situation for receiving aid. Most of these Republics are even now run
by regimes with authoritarian tendencies, characterized by the hard control
of society and the tolerance of very little political opposition.
The attendance of a strong civil society is vital to promote democracy as
a mechanism for inspiring public pressure and forcing state institutions into
becoming more responsible and answerable. NGO’s play a basic role in the
development and consolidation of democratic stability and pluralism in Cen-
tral Asia. Their work to protect human rights, advocate legislative changes
and voice the basic requirements of the population makes NGOs an necessary
part of civil society.
The break-up of the Soviet Union and the construction of new States,
confident and assisted by the international community to bring in democratic
changes, helped underline the significant role played by active non-govern-
mental organizations in the democratization process as potential intermedi-
aries between the population and decision-makers. Different Western
democracies, where civil society has regularly formed over many years, the
new political environment and increased possibilities for international sup-
port have resulted in very quick development of the NGO sector, based on cri-
teria which were quite different from what existed under the Soviet Union
only a few years before.
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NGOs in Central Asia
Democracy sponsorship was a central part of the post-Soviet transitions
and led to the funding and realization of programmes promoting free and fair
elections, the development of NGOs, judicial reform, civic contribution in po-
litical processes, and the development of independent media all over the
countries of the former Soviet Union. The route of creating new political
structures and adopting new legal frameworks in central asian States, com-
bined with international assistance to help establish democratic principles
in the newly independent States, offered new opportunities and challenges to
the emerging NGO community.
While in Soviet times differences in existing standards between urban
and rural populations were not so clear, because the state provided free
health, education and social welfare services, there is currently a pointed dif-
ference between city and village. More generally, society is getting more strat-
ified, more polarized between rich and poor, with poor people comprising
the tempting majority. 
International organizations working in Central Asia have played a key
role in the development of NGOs in the region. This has taken the form of pro-
viding education programmes and technical assistance as well as giving
grants to local NGOs for the realization of social projects. 
Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the important role played by active
NGOs in the democratization process as latent intermediaries between the
population and decision makers has become increasingly accepted in many of
its successor States. At the same time, the new-found prospects for interna-
tional support of NGO activities resulted in the fast establishment of many
organizations all over the region, and many are now encountering problems
in stressed to become self-sufficient. Also, in some CIS States, where political
activities are still limited, a number of NGOs continue to be perceived as po-
litical opponents, and may suffer interference with their activities.
A number of international organizations offer training programmes for
NGO leaders in such areas as preparation and management. However, much
of this teaching is built on the knowledge of Western organizations, and is not
always important or significant to local people, whose traditions, culture and
values differ considerably from those of the West. 
NGOs began to show in Central Asia in the transition era following the
collapse of the Soviet Union. Their numbers have increased fast in four out of
five post-Soviet Central Asian states over the last five or six years. This would
not have been possible without the sustain of international organizations and
programmes. Even as civil society encompasses political parties, trade unions,
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