These questions pose challenges for social scientists and policy makers alike. Russia has intervened on behalf of the communist government there. As a result, unstable regime transformations in Central Asia could lead to interstate conflicts. My dissertation attempts to identify the conditions for and obstacles to transitions from authoritarianism through a focused comparison of the least and most successful Central Asian republics, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, respectively. I depart from conventional elite-centered approaches of regime change by utilizing an interactive approach that assumes elites are constrained at the external and internal levels.
Elites can negotiate a transition from authoritarian rule.
However, both, external influence by neighboring countries and internal mass mobilization structurally constrain elite strategic choice. Organized Iranian New Year and Cultural Display at UCR, March 10- 30, 1996. Click here to go back to main page.