A Regional Initiative Supported by the Volkswagen Foundation

This summer school is part of a year-long initiative supported by the Volkswagen Foundation, with upcoming sessions in Almaty (March 2026) and Tbilisi (September 2026). The project is jointly organized by TU Dortmund University (Germany), Crossroads Central Asia (Kyrgyzstan), Kazakh-German University (Kazakhstan), the University of Georgia, and Tbilisi State University (Georgia).

The initiative seeks to deepen understanding of how social cohesion and public policy interact, while building a vibrant, region-wide network of emerging scholars committed to policy-relevant research.

A Diverse and Dynamic Programme

The four-day Bishkek programme combined lectures, workshops, networking activities, and cultural excursions. It opened with remarks from project leaders Nora Becker (lead coordinator, TU Dortmund), Shairbek Dzhuraev (CCA), and Serik Beimenbetov (Kazakh-German University), along with Daniela Grages, who represented the donor, Volkswagen Foundation. Following these remarks, the main part of the summer school began with a keynote address by Zuhra Halimova (CAPS Unlock) on bridging academia and policy in the region.

Key sessions and themes of the summer school included:

• Research and Methodology Skills – Sessions by Anja Mihr (OSCE Academy) on public policy as a research field; Gabriele Rasuly Paleczek (University of Vienna) on conducting interviews in rural areas; Mehrigiul Ablezova (AUCA) on the benefits and limits of survey research; and a lecture by Serik Beimenbetov on qualitative methods for studying public policy and cohesion.
• Social Cohesion Perspectives – Ilkham Umarakhunov (Search for Common Ground) on community-based cohesion projects and Asel Murzakulova (University of Central Asia) on non-human agency in shaping cohesion.
• Practical Academic Training – Workshops on writing for academic audiences (Sebastian Mayer, OSCE Academy), publishing strategies (Sebastien Peyrouse, George Washington University), and navigating peer-review processes (Aijan Sharshenova and Shairbek Dzhuraev).
• Professional Development – A session on project management for researchers by Nora Becker (TU Dortmund) and a lecture by Aijan Sharshenova (CCA) on empowerment and positionality in academia.
• Ethics and Security in Research – Lectures on research ethics and fieldwork security by Aliia Maralbaeva (Ala-Too University) and Bakhytzhan Kurmanov (University of Central Asia).

Collaboration and Community

Beyond formal lectures and workshops, the summer school placed strong emphasis on building connections among participants. Team-building activities, poster sessions, and an “open market” of research ideas created space for peer-to-peer exchange. Informal settings — from shared meals to interactive warm-ups — further fostered trust and exchange.

Excursions also played an important role. A guided walking tour of Bishkek allowed participants to experience the city in a more personal way, while the visit to the Ata Beyit Memorial Complex provided a moving encounter with Kyrgyzstan’s history and collective memory. These activities underscored the link between academic discussions of social cohesion and the lived realities of the societies in which they take place.

Participants represented Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Germany, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. This diversity of backgrounds and disciplines enriched the discussions and laid the foundation for lasting professional networks across the region and beyond.

Outcomes and Next Steps

The Bishkek summer school succeeded in meeting its twin objectives: strengthening research skills and fostering a regional network committed to policy-relevant scholarship. Participants left with concrete project ideas, peer feedback, and a clearer sense of how their work connects to broader debates on governance, inequality, and social change.

The next steps in the project will take the group to Almaty in March 2026 for the second summer school, where they will continue developing their research outputs and receive advanced training on methodology and dissemination. The programme will culminate in September 2026 with a final school and conference in Tbilisi, where participants will present their findings to a wider academic and policy audience.

Crossroads Central Asia is proud to have hosted the first stage of this ambitious project and remains committed to creating platforms where research, policy, and practice intersect. By supporting young scholars and connecting them across borders, the initiative contributes to building a more robust intellectual community for Central Asia and the Caucasus.

The post Building knowledge and networks: summer school on Social Cohesion and Public Policy first appeared on Crossroads Central Asia.

Speaking in the session on “Critical Minerals and Clean Energy: Securing Resources for a Sustainable Future,” Dr. Dzhuraev highlighted that Central Asia’s significance lies not only in its mineral wealth but in how these resources are developed, governed, and connected to the region’s long-term future. He emphasized five key points:

• the need for investment beyond extraction into processing and technology transfer;
• the importance of governance, transparency, and ESG standards;
• the value of partnerships that expand the region’s choices rather than reinforce great-power rivalries;
• the role of regional cooperation in harmonising standards and infrastructure; and
• the necessity of investing in local knowledge and expertise to ensure Central Asia shapes, rather than merely supplies, the global clean energy transition.

Dr. Dzhuraev concluded that critical minerals can either reinforce a new “resource curse” or become the foundation of a sustainable future — a choice that depends on the quality of governance and cooperation across and beyond the region.

The post Crossroads Central Asia at the U.S.–Central Asia Think Tank Forum first appeared on Crossroads Central Asia.

If you are an early-career researcher interested in social cohesion, public policy, and the dynamic region of Central Asia and the Caucasus, consider joining our international, interdisciplinary, and practice-oriented summer school series titled:

“Social Cohesion and Public Policy in Central Asia and the Caucasus: Disentangling the Linkage Through Ideas, Interests, and Institutions.”

Why Apply?

Participants will:

• Join three summer schools in Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and Georgia
  
• Work with leading scholars and practitioners from the region and Germany
  
• Develop their own academic or policy-oriented projects
  
• Receive training in methods, publication, public engagement, and more
  
• Produce policy papers, academic articles, or podcasts
  
• Enjoy fully funded participation (travel, accommodation, and meals) 

When & Where?

• Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan | 9–14 September 2025
  
• Almaty, Kazakhstan | 23–29 March 2026
  
• Tbilisi, Georgia | 22–27 September 2026 (Final Conference)
  
• ️ Two online preparatory sessions 

Who Can Apply?

We welcome applications from early-career researchers based in Central Asia, the Caucasus, or Germany who:

• Work on topics related to social cohesion (e.g. trust, identity, inequality) and/or public policy (e.g. governance, education, conflict resolution)
  
• Have a strong command of English
  
• Are eager to collaborate across borders and disciplines 

What to Submit (in English, as a single PDF):

1. CV (max. 2 pages)
   
2. Project proposal (500–1000 words)
   
3. Motivation letter (max. 1 page)
   
4. Optional: Note any accessibility needs (e.g., childcare support) 

Apply By:

20 June 2025 (CET)
Submit to: cacproject@tu-dortmund.de

Shortlisted applicants may be invited to brief online interviews between 23–27 June 2025. Final decisions by end of June.

About the Organizers

This program is a collaboration between:

• Crossroads Central Asia (Kyrgyzstan)
  
• Kazakh-German University (Kazakhstan)
  
• TU Dortmund University (Germany)
  
• The University of Georgia and Tbilisi State University (Georgia)
  Funded by the Volkswagen Foundation. 

Learn more at cac-project.org
Questions? Contact: cacproject@tu-dortmund.de

Download PDF version here.

The post Call for Participants: Summer School Series on Social Cohesion & Public Policy first appeared on Crossroads Central Asia.

Eligibility

• Doctoral or postdoctoral researchers in Politics, International Relations, Foreign Policy, Central Asian Studies, or relevant fields with active research projects on Central Asia. MA students and senior scholars are also welcome to apply.
• Candidates must be able to use English as a working language for publication.

How to apply
Please submit the following documents by email attachment to aijan@crossroads-ca.org.

• CV and a cover letter
• A brief description of the research project
• A proposal for publication on the CCA website

The applications are considered on a rolling basis. The responses will be provided within two weeks of the receipt of the application.

The post Open call: Visiting Research Fellows first appeared on Crossroads Central Asia.

On December 6, 2023, Crossroads’ president, Dr. Shairbek Dzhuraev, gave a keynote address on the changing role of Central Asia in the world at the German-Kazakh University conference in Almaty. A recent series of summits that Central Asian leaders have held with key external partners such as China, Russia, the EU and the US have sparked discussions about the region’s growing international influence. Indeed, the war in Ukraine placed Central Asia in the middle of a new global fault line and pushed many actors to want to engage with the region, each for its own reasons. Uzbekistan’s new-found openness in foreign policy also breathed life into everything “regional” in Central Asia. That said, Dr Dzhuraev argued the “emerging agency of Central Asia” narrative needs to be qualified as it primarily builds on externally conditioned processes while intra-regional changes remain tentative at best.

On December 8-9, 2023, Crossroads’ executive director, Dr. Aijan Sharshenova, participated in the TRT World Forum in Istanbul. TRT World Forum is an international high-level discussion platform bringing together politicians, academics, international organisations and journalists to discuss global issues. This year’s Forum was opened by President Recep Erdogan and featured a range of policymakers and influencers. Dr. Sharshenova contributed to a closed expert discussion on the geopolitical rivalry in Central Asia.

The post Central Asia’s changing international role under debate first appeared on Crossroads Central Asia.

The authors, Samuel Doveri Vesterbye, ENC Managing Director, Andreas Marazis, ENC Head of Research for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, and Shairbek Dzhuraev, co-founder and president of Crossroads Central Asia, examined the way vulnerable communities use different kinds of media in Central Asia, with a specific focus on social media. The research aimed at determining the information needs of labour migrants and their families, refugees, stateless people and ethnic minorities, as well as rural populations, youth, minorities and marginalised groups affected by the COVID-19 pandemic across Central Asia.

For more details, visit the ENC website.

The post Report released on the COVID-19 and media consumption in Central Asia first appeared on Crossroads Central Asia.

Significant changes occurred in Kyrgyzstan in recent years, creating the foundation for the emergence of a robust parliamentary democracy. These included the constitutional amendments, competitive elections, and, accordingly, higher expectations of the population from the activities of the parliament. However, many challenges remain today that create obstacles for the Jogorku Kenesh to transform into a genuinely effective representative branch of power.

One problem is a low level of interconnection and interaction of the population, civil society and parliament. This is visible both in weak civic participation in the affairs of parliament and in the lack of accessible, relevant and comprehensive information about parliament and its work among the broader constituencies of the population. As a result, the parliament has often been attributed a label of a “club of businessmen” or “political entrepreneurs” rather than being seen as a key authority representing and protecting the interests of all citizens and specific social groups.

This project aims to increase the awareness and enlightenment of civil society about the nature and work of the Jogorku Kenesh through the creation of an interactive online platform. The platform, expected to be fully operational in September 2020, will enable every interested citizen of the country to find, in an accessible language, comprehensive information about the work of the parliament members and the parliament as a whole.

The portal development is supported by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) project “Strong parliamentary democracy with active participation of citizens” implemented by UNDP in the Kyrgyz Republic.

The post Open parliament: developing voting record system for the Kyrgyz legislature first appeared on Crossroads Central Asia.

The conference brought together scholars from Central Asian states as well as Russia, the USA and the UK. The presentations and discussions focused on examining the track record of Central Asian states’ engagement with their foreign partners since 1991 and discuss the critical issues they face today in their foreign policy agenda. The program was organized around the presentation of policy papers on a foreign policy of each Central Asian states, followed by a panel that focused on crucial extra-regional powers, Russia, China and the USA. The conference program can be accessed here. 

While the conference discussion shed light on multiple topics, two related themes could be highlighted here. First, the Central Asia presentations both confirmed but also provided greater nuance on the nature of differences and similarities between what were five Soviet republics of the region. Key variables included the role of top political leaders, the dynamics of domestic political struggle and the “taken-for-granted” circumstances such as geography or natural resources. While ruling parties have grown more confident vis-a-vis the “international community”, the countries’ political systems remain inherently in transition, with important implications for their international relations. 

Second, thirty years after Central Asian states emerged independent, the major international powers’ engagement with the region is in flux. One may still argue whether a particular extra-regional power offers opportunities or poses a threat to Central Asia. There is, however, little to debate on whether China is still a “potential” power in the region; it is no more “potential”. Beijing’s rising relevance for domestic politics and economies of Central Asia appears to mirror the decreasing relevance of the United States. Russia is both involved and concerned with the above changes. While it remains the most influential power for Central Asia, the coming decades will likely bring new tests to Moscow’s influence toolkit in the region.

Conference presentations will be developed into a series of policy papers and published by Crossroads Central Asia in the coming months.

Photos courtesy to AUCA

The post Crossroads hosts a conference on Central Asia’s international relations first appeared on Crossroads Central Asia.

The seminar included remarks by Dr Shlomo Weber (President, New Economic School, Russia) and the research presentation by Drs. Paul Castañeda Dower and Theodore Gerber (University of Wisconsin – Madison). Discussants included Dr Nurgul Ukueva and Professor Zarylbek Kudabaev of AUCA, representatives of the National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic. Mr Shairbek Dzhuraev of Crossroads Central Asia facilitated the discussion.

As part of the research, 20 structured interviews with business owners (12 in Bishkek, 8 in Osh) were conducted in fall 2018. In spring 2019, the team implemented a survey of 1000 firm managers/entrepreneurs. The questions included the nature of their family and friendship networks, what kinds of business and non-business resources they receive from and provide to their various contacts, their firms’ history, size, profile, and performance, and the business environment they face. The survey response rate was 56.2%, with reasons for non-response distributed as follows: 574 refusals, 195 non-contacts during three attempts, three cases where a sampled business listed in the census could not be located, and 7 “other” reasons. Access to full results of the study will be provided once finalized.

(Photo courtesy of AUCA)

The post Results of a kinship and private business study presented first appeared on Crossroads Central Asia.

The above questions were central in a study that included a survey of 1000 small business owners in Bishkek and Osh. The survey was preceded by 20 in-depth interviews with entrepreneurs from different industries as well as several experts and leaders of business associations. The research project was led by Drs Paul Dower and Ted Gerber of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, with Crossroads Central Asia acting as a field research partner.

The post A study on kinship and economic development in Kyrgyzstan first appeared on Crossroads Central Asia.