Hello!
We are a London-UK based group. Our interdisciplinary research network aims to showcase early career researchers working on Central Asia and its wider region. We believe in collective learning and have built a dedicated group of scholars since 2012 through doctoral workshops.
London
Central Asia
Research
Network (LCARN)
An interdisciplinary network for early-career research on Central Asia and its wider region.
PREVIOUS EVENTS
2021
Webinar
2 July 2021
Talk: Fresh Ph.D. Research on Contesting Kalmak Identity in Kyrgyzstan
Chair Dr Gulzot Botoeva
Speaker: Dr Aida Aaly Alymbaeva
Click here to watch on our YouTube channel
2021
Webinar
26 May 2021
Book Talks with Authors: Hamer and Anvil
Chair Dr Gül Berna Özcan
Speaker: Prof Pamela Kyle Crossley
Click here to watch on our YouTube channel
2021
Webinar
21 May 2021
Talk: Fresh Ph.D. Research on Nation Building in Afghanistan
Chair Dr Harun Yilmaz
Speaker: Dr Zeynep Tuba Sungur
Click here to watch on our YouTube channel
2021
Webinar
19 March 2021
Publishing books at Routledge Central Asia Research Forum Book Series
Convened by Dr Gulzat Botoeva
Speakers: Dorothea Schaefter, Senior Editor, Asian Studies & Dr Harun Yilmaz Academic Editor
Click here to watch on our YouTube channel
2021
Webinar
19 March 2021
Making space and time for writing a book
Convened by Dr Gulzat Botoeva and Dr Diana Kudaibergenova
Speaker: Dr Madeleine Reeves
Click here to watch on our YouTube channel
2021
Workshop
5 February 2021
The Ninth Annual Doctoral Research Workshop on Central Asia
The Social and Cultural Meaning of Money in Central Asia
Convened by Dr Gulzat Botoeva and Dr Oybek Madiyev
2020
Webinar
27 November 2020
Reflections on academic fundraising and grant writing - the art of getting there
Convened by Dr Gulzat Botoeva
Speaker: Dr Abel Polese
Click here to watch on our YouTube channel.
2020
Webinar
30 October 2020
Writing from the South: Our subjects, our audience, ourselves
Convened by Dr Gulzat Botoeva and Sofya du Boulay (Omarova)
Speakers: Dr Erica Marat, Associate Professor and Chair of the Regional and Analytical Studies Department, National Defence University
2020
Webinar
11 September 2020
How to pursue a successful PhD research
Convened by Dr Gulzat Botoeva
Speakers: Dr Zhanar Sekerbayeva and Dr Syinat Sultanalieva
2020
Workshop
25 January 2020
The Eighth Annual Doctoral Research Workshop on Central Asia
History and Historiography of Central Asia
Convened by Dr Harun Yilmaz and Dr Gai Jorayev
Review of the Workshop by CAAL at UCL
2019
Workshop
26 January 2019
The Seventh Annual Doctoral Research Workshop on Central Asia
Art and Culture – Actors or Representatives?
Convened by Dr Gül Berna Özcan, Dr Aliya de Tiesenhausen, Dr Gulzat Botoeva and Ms Rosa Vercoe (MA, MSc)
2018
Workshop
27 January 2018
The Sixth Annual Doctoral Research Workshop on Central Asia
“Il/legal” and informal practices in the Eurasian region
Convened by Dr Gulzat Botoeva and Dr Gül Berna Özcan
2017
Workshop
28 January 2017
The Fifth Annual Doctoral Research Workshop on Central Asia
Central Asia’s Evolving Relations with China
Convened by Dr Gulzat Botoeva and Dr Gül Berna Özcan
2016
Workshop
30 January 2016
The Fourth Annual Doctoral Research Workshop on Central Asia
Reflections on post-Soviet Development in Central Asia: A Multi-disciplinary Perspective
Convened by Dr Gül Berna Özcan and Dr Gulzat Botoeva
2015
Workshop
24 January 2015
The Third Annual Doctoral Research Workshop on Central Asia
Publishing, Grants and Policy Engagement
Convened by Dr Gül Berna Özcan and Diana T. Kudaibergenova
2014
Workshop
25 January 2014
The Second Annual Doctoral Research Workshop on Central Asia
Social and Economic Development in Central Asia: Theory and Practice
Convened by Dr Gül Berna Özcan and Diana T. Kudaibergenova
2012
Workshop
24 November 2012
The First Annual Doctoral Research Workshop on Central Asia
Building Theories and Methodologies in the Third Decade
Convened by Dr Gül Berna Özcan
ABOUT US
We are a group of friends with a sincere passion for the Central Asian region, who have collaborated on academic workshops and linked social events for a decade. Our hub is open to anyone interested in Central Asia who self-identifies as “Early-Career”. This is a supportive, informal peer-to-peer network, promoting engagement and professional development.
Aims:
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Connect early career researchers and PhD students with eminent scholars and practitioners through annual London-based thematic workshops and webinars.
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Promote rigorous interdisciplinary and broad-ranging scholarship with a strong application of theory and methodologies, showcasing Central Asian themes to the broader academic community.
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Contribute to academic capacity building in Central Asia and support economic development, social well-being and environmental justice agendas in the region.
Please follow us on social media for updates.
Dr Gulzat Botoeva, University of Roehampton, UK
Gulzat.botoeva@roehampton.ac.uk
Gulzat Botoeva is a Senior Lecturer in Criminology at the University of Roehampton. Her recent research project focuses on illegal gold mining in Kyrgyzstan, criminalisation and de-legitimation of mining protests. Her previous research project was focused on small-scale hashish harvesting in Kyrgyzstan. In general, Gulzat is interested in studying illegal and informal economies (drug production, illegal gold mining and illegal monies) in a post-Soviet context; mainly using qualitative research methods and ethnographies of crime. She has published with Theoretical Criminology, The International Journal of Drug Policy, and Central Asian Survey journals. She contributed a paper on local protests around gold mining in Kyrgyzstan to a forthcoming publication Central Asian World.
Sofya du Boulay
Sofya du Boulay is a Marie Curie Fellow and PhD candidate in Political Science at Oxford Brookes University. Her main research interests are related to the study of authoritarian regimes, including their political stability and legitimation in Central Asia and the Caucasus. Her research has been published in Problems of Post-Communism and Theorizing Central Asian Politics: The State, Ideology and Power (Palgrave Macmillan, 2019).
Dr Katherine Hughes
Katherine Hughes is a museum professional and independent researcher focusing on the ontology of objects, critical heritage of museums and how monuments shape space around them. Her doctoral research focused on the feedback loop between Samanid material culture and how it was used to negotiate their identity, together with how the Samanids are referenced by Tajikistan’s identity programme today. She has written for Central Asian Survey and Cambridge Central Asia Reviews. She contributed a paper on Early Islamic carved wood in the National Museum of Tajikistan to a forthcoming publication, Tajiks: History, Religion, Culture and People.
Dr Gai Jorayev, UCL, UK
g.jorayev@ucl.ac.uk
Personal website
Gai Jorayev works at UCL Institute of Archaeology where he is a Degree Co-ordinator for MA in Managing Archaeological Sites and conducts research in two main areas: modern-day heritage management and digital heritage. His doctoral research focused on Nation-building and Heritage in Central Asia and he has previously worked on development initiatives with the EU and UN in the region. He recently carried out projects in post-Soviet space, Africa and European Union, and he currently collaborates closely with organisations such as UNESCO and UNWTO on Silk Roads related research and development projects.
Dr Oybek Madiyev, University of Kent, UK
o.madiyev-204@kent.ac.uk
Personal website
Oybek Madiyev is a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the School of Politics and International Relations, University of Kent. His interdisciplinary research combines areas such as comparative political economy, political history, international relations, and international political economy. His recently published book titled Uzbekistan’s International Relations (Routledge, 2020) evaluates the country’s foreign policy and concentration of power since the end of the Soviet Union.
Dr Gül Berna Özcan, Royal Holloway, University of London, UK
g.ozcan@rhul.ac.uk
Personal website
Gül Berna Özcan is a Reader in International Business and Entrepreneurship at Royal Holloway. Gül Berna investigates the spatial, moral and political character of the enterprise and business actors through an interdisciplinary approach in diverse settings. Her work on Central Asian entrepreneurship explores business growth patterns and how social stratification, ideological transformations and class relocation shape the development of post-Soviet businesses. In addition to numerous journal articles, her books include: Diverging Paths of Development in Central Asia (Ed. Routledge, 2017); Building States and Markets: Enterprise Development in Central Asia (Palgrave, 2010).
Rosa Vercoe, UCL, UK
r.vercoe@ucl.ac.uk
Personal website
Rosa Vercoe works at UCL Institute for Global Health in an administrative role. She is an independent researcher of Central Asian dance and culture. Her articles were published by BBC Uzbek, Voices on Central Asia (a platform for scholars, authors, and journalists interested in Central Asia), Jahon News (Uzbekistan), CAAN (Central Asia Analytical Network). Rosa is also a co-Director of British-Uzbek Society based in London. She is responsible for organising cultural events and communications with members.
Dr Harun Yilmaz
s.harun.yilmaz@gmail.com
Harun Yilmaz is Central Asia Research Forum Series editor at Routledge Taylor & Francis Group. He is a regional expert on history, politics, national identities and political propaganda. His academic and popular publications cover Ukraine, the Caucasus, and Central Asia. He has published with Central Asian Survey, Iranian Studies, and Revolutionary Russia. His latest publication, entitled National Identities in Soviet Historiography: The Rise of Nations under Stalin (Routledge, 2015) covers Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan. He is working on another book on the Soviet construction of modern national identities.
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
Botoeva, Gulzat. ‘Multiple narratives of il/legality and im/morality: The case of small-scale hashish harvesting in Kyrgyzstan’. Theoretical Criminology 25, issue 2 (2019): 268-283.
Botoeva, Gulzat. ‘Use of language in blurring the lines between legal and illegal'. In Governance Beyond the Law: The Illegal, the immoral and the criminal, edited by A. Polese, A. Russo, F. Strazzari. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2019.
Du Boulay, Sofya and du Boulay, Huw. ‘New Alphabets, Old Rules: Latinization, Legacy, and Liberation in Central Asia’. Problems of Post-Communism 68, issue 2 (2021): 135-149.
Du Boulay Sofya and Isaacs, R. ‘Legitimacy and Legitimation in Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan’. In Theorizing Central Asian Politics, International Political Theory, edited by R. Isaacs, A. Frigerio, 17-41. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2019.
Du Boulay, Sofya. Why Authoritarian Legitimation Matters? Around the Caspian Policy Paper, 2019
Hughes, Katherine. ‘From the Achaemenids to Somoni: national identity and iconicity in the landscape of Dushanbe’s capitol complex’. Central Asian Survey 36, issue 4 (2017): 511-533.
Hughes, Katherine. ‘Sacred Trees: Pre-Islamic to Post-Soviet Ritual Imagery in the Upper Zarafshan Valley, Tajikistan’. Cambridge Central Asia Reviews 1, issue 2 (2016): 1–12.
Jorayev, Gai. ‘Archaeology, Nationalism and Politics: The Need for Tourism’. In Archaeology and Tourism: Touring the Past, edited by D. J. Timothy & L. G. Tahan, 186–204. Bristol: Channel View Publications, 2020.
Jorayev, Gai. A comparative study of the role of heritage in Post-Soviet Central Asian nation-building, forthcoming.
Madiyev, Oybek. 'The Eurasian Economic Union: Repaving Central Asia’s Road to Russia?'. Migration Information Source, 03 February 2021.
Madiyev, Oybek. Uzbekistan’s International Relations. London: Routledge, 2020.
Madiyev, Oybek. 'Why have China and Russia become Uzbekistan’s biggest energy partners? Exploring the role of exogenous and endogenous factors', Cambridge Journal of Eurasian Studies 1 (2017).
Özcan, Gül Berna. ‘Entrepreneurial Growth Strategies in Central Asia: A Mid-Transition Typology of 4S’. International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business 42, issues 1/2 (2021): 232-258.
Özcan, Gül Berna. China’s Business in Central Asia: Power and Anxiety, Wilson Centre, 2020.
Özcan, Gül Berna, ed. Diverging Paths of Development in Central Asia. London: Routledge, 2017.
Vercoe, Rosa. 'How they met Tamara Khanum in London and the secret of Usto Olim Komilov’s turban', Voices on Central Asia, 22 October 2019
Vercoe, Rosa. 'Saule Suleimenova: A Journey to Find True Kazakhness', Voices on Central Asia, 1 November 2018:
Vercoe, Rosa. 'Uzbek Dance Art: Past and Present – In the Wake of Tashkent Encounters', Voices on Central Asia, 13 December 2018
Yilmaz, Harun. National Identities in Soviet Historiography: The rise of nations under Stalin. London & New York: Routledge, 2015.
Yilmaz, Harun. 'The Rise of Red Kurdistan', Iranian Studies: Journal of the International Society for Iranian Studies 47, issue 6 (2014): 799-822.
Yilmaz, Harun. 'History writing as agitation and propaganda: Kazakh history book of 1943', Central Asian Survey 31, issue 4 (2012): 409-423.
USEFUL LINKS
The Institute of Ismaili Studies
The International Dunhuang Project: The Silk Road Online
Central Asian Archaeological Landscapes
Exeter Central Asian Studies Network
Roadwork: An Anthropology of Infrastructure at China's Inner Asian Borders
European Society for Central Asian Studies
New Research on Central Asia and the Caucasus (Facebook group)